A Slice of Wedding Cake
by Lucathia Rykatu
Summary: Sun and Judgment are getting married. The "why" and "how" really aren't that important right now. For this is not a story about their romance; this is the story of us observers. Yes, we, the underappreciated observers of this whole spectacle who did 99% of the work, and only received a slice of wedding cake in return. Grisia/Lesus, Ceo/Roland. Co-written with Kiyutsuna.
1. Slice 1: The Very Short Prologue

A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Kiyutsuna and Lucathia

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Sun Knight belongs to Yu Wo. No monetary profit is being made from this fic.

**Notes:** This is a collaborative story co-written by Kiyutsuna and me (Lucathia). We will be alternating chapters to be best of our abilities. Odd chapters are Kiyutsuna's and even chapters are mine. The idea for this entire fic was totally hers, inspired by a panel from Rule 20 of the manhua that totally looked like a wedding scene between Lesus and Grisia. This is set vaguely post-canon (vague, because we'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum). This is most definitely a pairing fic, with hints of other pairings as well. Grisia/Lesus and Ceo/Roland are the prominent pairings.

* * *

**Slice 1: The Very Short Prologue  
**

* * *

**Storm**

Sun and Judgment are getting married.

Yes, I know, it came as a shock to the rest of us too. But trust me, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Why and how exactly did they arrive at this particular decision, you ask? According to what I had pieced together from various sources of gossip, the "why" and "how" resulted from a long and twisted chain of events that would put any romance novel to shame. And believe me when I say I've read my share of those. To this day, I resent whichever Storm Knight it was that decided romance novels were a required reading for all Storm Knights-in-training.

Anyhow, back to the main topic. The "why" and "how" really aren't that important right now. For this is not a story about their romance; this is the story of us observers. Yes, we, the underappreciated observers of this whole spectacle who did 99% of the work, and only received a slice of wedding cake in return.

For all you romantics out there, forget about the courtship and proposal and whatnot for a second. There are much more pressing issues at hand. Seriously, do you have any idea how many problems this whole wedding ordeal comes with?!

Simply the fact that the two of them, being the Sun Knight and Judgment Knight, were getting married was a huge deal. Never mind getting married to _each other_. And noooo, they weren't going to settle for a small and discreet private wedding either. Somewhere along the line the decision was made to have a "_proper_" wedding.

Which means, it would be public. Which means, it would be the wedding of the century. Which means, my paperwork load had tripled overnight.

I could only thank the God of Light for giving me Roland. Without whom I would not have the time, or any life in me to begin narrating this story. (Adair is much too busy to lend a hand with paperwork. At the moment he and Vidar are conducting some sort of joint training boot camp with their platoons. Apparently it's to promote "family bonding.")

But before we could get to the bulk of all the prep work, one issue was left to the newly engaged couple to debate over.

_Who was going to wear the dress?_

* * *

to be continued

**Kiyutsuna:** Please support the wedding by placing bets on your favourite wedding dress candidate! All proceeds will go to the "Let Knight-Captain Storm have a day off" charity. Contact the Storm Knight Platoon for details~ Vice-captain Storm will be personally overseeing all bets.

**Lucathia:** You can place your bets by voting through the poll in my profile, though if you want bragging rights for getting it right, do leave us your name on your way out. We would love to know why too. The dress wearer will be revealed in the third chapter. :D Enjoy, this will be a long fic. (In fact, this is the only short chapter out of the chapters we've written so far. The other chapters range around 3k!)


	2. Slice 2: Training Boot Camp Bonding Time

A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Kiyutsuna and Lucathia

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Sun Knight belongs to Yu Wo. No monetary profit is being made from this fic.

**Notes: **Co-written with Kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine! Chapters are now named "Slices," yum~.

* * *

**Slice 2: Training Boot Camp Bonding Time  
**

* * *

**Adair**

I know that the issue of who would wear the wedding dress is on everyone's minds, and believe me, it's on mine too, but before we can get around to that, I have to first tell you about all the changes in the Sun Knight Platoon and the Judgment Knight Platoon that the sudden marriage announcement brought about.

Think of it this way. You've always known that the men in black armor are your enemies, and thus you must treat them with animosity, like they had slaughtered your entire family, but one day, you're told, "Forget about all that. Now you're best buddies! Your leaders will even bond in the most intimate of ways and marry each other!"

While I always knew that the day would come that my captain would shock everyone into a heart attack with his boldness, as my captain was never a follower of rules, I could not help but feel despondent that my captain would be moving onto his next stage in life. Nothing would be the same after this, especially when he had basically overthrown years and years of traditions by declaring his intent to marry his "sworn enemy," the Judgment Knight.

But personal feelings would come later. Vidar and I both had our hands full at the moment.

Although it was expected of our platoons to get along now, years of conditioning meant habits were difficult to break.

"It must be your captain who seduced Captain Judgment!" a judgment knight claimed.

"Your captain is obviously the one who frightened, I mean, demanded Captain to offer himself!" yelled one of the sun knights. Thankfully, he changed his wording halfway. You never knew when Captain might be eav- I mean, checking in on us.

I stood off to the side with Vidar. I shared a look with him. Our two platoons were nearly flying at each other's throats. While we expected such behavior of them in the past and even went out of our ways to train it into them, now we had to undo all of that.

"We seriously need a bonding session or something," Ed said offhandedly.

I crossed my arms, a smile coming over my face. He had given me a good idea. A sudden hush came over the Sun Knight Platoon. They collectively took a step backward. Once the judgment knights realized their opponents had fallen silent, they too fell silent, turned to look at me, and then took a step back in unison.

I smiled a bit wider.

Ed groaned. "Now what have you thought of? I don't like that smile. Having Captain do that is more than enough!" He turned to the sun knights. "And let me say this first! It's not my fault, whatever he cooks up!"

None of the sun knights looked very impressed, as all of us knew that if something was up, it was usually Ed's fault. But this time, I thought his offhanded remark to be quite genius. I clasped Ed on the shoulder and said, "Thanks Ed, you gave me a great idea."

I turned to Vidar. "What do you think of a joint training camp?"

Vidar appraised the unruly knights before us. "A sound idea, Vice-Captain Adair. I will drill discipline into those sun knights!"

Even as I nodded, I thought that Vidar could use the bonding time too, and both he and I could use something to take our minds off of the upcoming wedding, when our captains would no longer belong to us.

* * *

Before we left, I had to apologize to Knight-Captain Storm. I would not be available to help him with the paperwork that the wedding would no doubt generate. When he finished listening to me explain, he groaned and covered his eyes with his hands.

I watched worriedly and decided to make an additional trip, this time to Knight-Captain Hell's quarters in an attempt to make sure Knight-Captain Storm would not die from overworking himself. Even a wedding between the Sun Knight and the Judgment Knight would not be enough to cover up such a matter, and my captain would no doubt try to resurrect poor Knight-Captain Storm to doom him into completing more paperwork upon his awakening. If that didn't work, we would perhaps have another undead among us... Knight-Captain Hell and Knight-Captain Storm would make quite a pair.

Thus began the joint training camp between the Sun Knight Platoon and the Judgment Knight Platoon, with not-quite-blessings from the Storm Knight. True to his word, Vidar tried to drill discipline into the sun knights to varying degrees of success... or failure, depending on how you wanted to look at it. It was only after I reminded the sun knights that honing their individual skills would most definitely help their skills in surrounding their opponents that they finally put in more effort.

When the first evening of the training camp rolled around, Vidar sat down on the log opposite of mine and gave a huge sigh. Not even the crackling fire between us covered up his sigh.

"They'll come around," I said. While the sun knights were not as practiced in drills, unlike how the Judgment Knight Platoon always diligently went through their drills every morning (our training sessions were a lot less by the book), they were not unfamiliar with them either. They were only trying to give Vidar trouble with their reluctance, and Vidar could sense it.

Vidar frowned. "This is going to take a lot of work."

I bit into my rations. After swallowing the nearly tasteless food, I said, "If anyone could drill discipline into them, it would be you." The judgment knights were no easy holy knights to lead, and Vidar had done it splendidly despite the flak they had initially given him for his baby-face. If Vidar could win them over, then he could win anyone over, even rebellious sun knights.

He gave me a tiny smile that I thought looked quite nice. It suited him much better than the frowns he tried to put on to look more serious.

* * *

The next morning, I was given the leadership, and so I led all of the holy knights in nine laps around the forest. Though we were not in the city, and the Judgment Knight Platoon had joined us, that did not mean we should let up on our traditional morning routine.

By the seventh lap, a gap had grown between the front of the pack and the rest, and there was a clear division between sun knights and judgment knights, white uniforms and dark ones. I slowed my pace down until I was side-by-side with Vidar.

"You okay?" I asked.

Vidar nodded but did not spare energy to speak. I took a look at the judgment knights behind us and called out encouragingly, "Two laps left! Keep it up!"

Then, I jogged back to the front to lead us to the finish.

Once we reached the camp, the judgment knights all collapsed onto the floor. Most had fallen to their knees, some had shakily made their way to the shade of trees to sit down, and a few had completely sprawled over the floor bonelessly.

Vidar was part of the middle group. With his back resting against a tree, he said while panting, "Do...you...do that every...day?"

"Yeah, we do," I answered. Ed and the others were chatting by the side, not nearly as winded as the judgment knights. It was clear to everyone now that if we competed in endurance, the sun knights would emerge as the victors.

Vidar looked at the sun knights with new respect. "How long...?"

Although he hadn't finished his question, I could guess what he wanted to ask. "We haven't always been doing this many laps, but we started running two years before our captains took office."

"No wonder," Vidar mumbled. Then, he glanced at me with a wry smile and said, "So they do know discipline."

I laughed. "Just a different brand of it."

With a captain like ours, we'd learned to adapt.

* * *

After a short rest, I led everyone to the cliffs. The sun knights immediately started groaning while the judgment knights looked on in confusion.

"Not this again, Adair!"

"We'll die!"

The judgment knights' looks of confusion turned into wariness upon hearing the Sun Knight Platoon's complaints.

One look from me silenced the sun knights though. It was now the Judgment Knight Platoon that I had to worry about, as they did not seem willing to join the practice.

"Come," I said, "nothing speaks comradeship more than sharing a bit of danger together. Surely you judgment knights are not so spineless as to refuse to do something we sun knights have been doing for years?"

That did the trick. Scowling judgment knights immediately threw themselves into the task.

What task was this, you ask? Why, "falling," of course. On flat land and even halfway from the cliff. I was not so heartless as to make them fall from the top of the cliff. We did not have any clerics with us, and none of us were as proficient at healing as my captain.

The practice session that followed after that was one of the most interesting ones I'd overseen, with "oofs," "guhs," "owww," and "nooo, don't flatten me like a pancake!" as our background music. I strongly believed that the art of falling was one of the most important skills one needed to learn, and I was proud to claim that all sun knights could be considered experts at it. Years of practicing falling by the cliffside did wonders. It also made us a very tough platoon to deal with in a fight. Not only were we resilient with high endurance, we were also masters at avoiding damage.

I overheard a pale-faced judgment knight whisper to one of the sun knights, "I never knew Adair was so scary!"

Despite how he tried to lower his voice, several sun knights overheard him and laughed. "You haven't seen anything yet!"

_Good, they're bonding._

Near the end of the session, a bruised Ed limped over to my side. "You are a total sadist," he complained.

"Thank you for the praise," I replied, though I was not without scratches myself. I cast a Minor Heal in the direction of a limping judgment knight, causing him to straighten up and thank me.

Ed pouted. "What about me?"

"You can heal yourself," I said.

After all, we sun knights were more proficient at healing magic than the judgment knights. It was another area that they could show off in to their brethren and would surely elevate the judgment knights' opinions of them.

That was, as long as they didn't remind the judgment knights why they'd received the injuries in the first place, but I've found that most people usually didn't hold grudges very long if you showed a willingness to make up for things... unless your name was Grisia Sun.

He was definitely not "most people."

I looked at the cliffs fondly before joining everyone else.

* * *

That night after we finished training, instead of surviving on tasteless rations again, I split the platoons into groups of four, with two sun knights and two judgment knights in each group, to prepare dinner. Some groups were responsible for hunting, some for gathering vegetables, some for drawing water, some for gathering firewood, some for setting up the barbeque racks and the stew pots, and some for cooking.

I assigned myself to the cooking side while Vidar decided to join the hunting groups.

When the hunting groups returned with boars, the cooking groups got to work. I was pleased to see the sun knights and judgment knights joking around with each other as they lugged the carcasses of the boars before us. The cooking groups likewise bonded as they complained over the many difficulties of food preparation, like one big happy family.

I instructed them on how to skin the boar and prepare the meat, and then I made sure another group started the fire to boil water for stew. When we were finally done and the other groups returned from refreshing themselves, we all sat down to enjoy the meal that resulted from all of our efforts put together. Unfortunately, the "vegetables" scavenged by the vegetable groups all had to be thrown away, as I did not want anyone to end up poisoning themselves. We settled for a meal of only meat, but even so, the aroma was heavenly.

"So delicious!" I heard several people exclaim. "I've never tasted anything more delicious!"

_Then you must not have tasted Knight-Captain Ice's cooking, or Knight-Captain Leaf's._ Still, I understood where they were coming from, and the cause of their exaggeration. There was truly nothing like preparing the food yourself, and there was truly nothing like making a meal together for people to bond. The food itself was a great way to win people over. I knew that fact very well.

I looked down at my skewer of meat, recalling the first time I'd successfully made food for my captain, and how his face had lit up. That was when I'd learned what his true smile looked like, and how I became a hundred percent certain that all his other smiles were faked. His true smiles were rare, but they came to him easily whenever Knight-Captain Judgment was involved. Now that Captain no longer had to hide his relationship with him, would I still be able to bring him breakfast every morning like I used to?

"I take it back," a judgment knight suddenly said, eyes shining as he bit into the savory meat. "Adair, you're the best!"

The sun knights all laughed and said once more. "You haven't seen anything yet!"

The mood grew jovial, chatter filling the air. I grew less morose myself and looked across the fire, catching Vidar's gaze, pleased that we had come this far.

I gave him a smile.

Perhaps our platoons could grow closer after all.

He smiled softly in return.

_Besides, I won't be alone, will I?_

* * *

The next day, it was once again Vidar's turn to lead our platoons. Since the holy knights had begun to bond the day before, they were a lot more willing to participate, but they were also a whole lot chattier.

Apparently, the thought of who would wear the wedding dress was never far from their minds, and now both sides were finally comfortable enough to start what my captain hated the most from us - gossiping.

Especially if the gossip involved him.

"Surely your captain will be wearing the dress!"

"I actually think so too..."

If Captain were to hear them, he would surely explode or flip a table. Or both. Sadly, he was the reason why a wedding dress had to be involved. If two men wanted to get married, why not wear suits? There was no need for one to wear a dress.

However, in the case of the Sun Knight and the Judgment Knight getting married, one of them _had_ to wear a dress.

The entire affair of the wedding dress actually came about because of the Pope's insistence. When my captain proposed to Knight-Captain Judgment and declared his intent to marry him, the Pope grudgingly allowed it - only if one of them wore a wedding dress.

Stubborn to a fault, and gleeful that he had managed to wheedle such a compromise from the Pope, my captain had agreed. It was only afterward, when the Pope smirked, that my captain realized the Pope had played him. A wedding between the Sun Knight and the Judgment Knight, with one of them guaranteed to wear a dress? It was bound to become the event of the century, and you can be sure the Pope would rake in all the money he could from it for the Church.

The wedding came just in time too, since Elijah and the princess had only just gotten married, which the Pope claimed gave too much power to the royal knights. Although Knight-Captain Leaf's marriage with the second princess of the Kingdom of Moon Orchid brought in new converters to the Church of the God of Light from the neighboring kingdom, it also meant that some people had decided to move to the same neighboring kingdom. That led to a loss of followers who had decided to convert to the main religion over there, so Knight-Captain Leaf's marriage did not provide much of a boon.

At the end of our joint training camp, Vidar, who had learned the importance of rewarding people for a job well done from his captain, suggested that we celebrate at the tavern. Sharing drinks was also a great way to bond, so I heartily approved of the endeavor. I was also pleased that he was getting along with the Sun Knight Platoon a lot better now, no doubt because they had actually earned his respect.

Vidar was that kind of person, one who only respected you if he felt you deserved the respect. Once you earned his respect, he was loyal beyond measure.

At his suggestion, we made our way to the tavern and ordered rounds for everyone. It was while many were drunk that the conversation once again returned to the matter of the wedding dress.

"Have you heard?" one judgment knight said. I felt deeply touched that they'd learned the art of gossiping so quickly. My platoon was truly wonderful at luring people to our side. "There's a betting pool going on over who will wear the dress!"

Of course, we hadn't needed to give them much of a push. Most of the holy knights in the Holy Temple were skilled at gossiping. Some were just more reluctant and tight-lipped, with the Judgment Knight Platoon being at the top of that list, given who their captain was. So, I counted it as successful bonding that we had gotten them to loosen up.

"The odds for Knight-Captain Sun are 1.083 to 1!" another judgment knight added.

"While the odds for Captain Judgment are 563 to 1!" a third judgment knight chimed in.

That, of course, led to the question of who they would bet on.

"Knight-Captain Sun, of course," nearly everyone agreed. "Betting on Knight-Captain Judgment would just mean we would lose money! Though betting on Knight-Captain Sun means we wouldn't get much of a return... at least it would be a guaranteed return!"

Vidar nodded. Even the judgment knights shuddered a bit at the thought of their captain wearing a dress. The sight would not be very pretty, they claimed. Now I was sure they were drunk, since if they hadn't been drunk, they would surely have protested (even if only a little), that their captain would look fine in a dress.

"Are you betting on my captain too?" I asked Vidar.

"Yes, I have no doubt that your captain will be the one wearing the dress," Vidar answered, his cheeks rosy. I could get used to the look.

I laughed into my cup and downed the wine. As I placed it down, I flashed Vidar a grin, "That's only because you don't know my captain well enough. Tell you what, I'll bet on your captain."

Maybe it was because I was drunk. If anyone asked though, it was because I was _that_ confident in my captain.

* * *

to be continued

**Kiyutsuna:** Kiyu have nothing to say for she is too busy fangirling over Adair and Vidar.

**Lucathia:** No one is surprised that I ended up writing the Adair chapter, haha...ha.


	3. Slice 3: The Art of Eavesdropping

A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Kiyutsuna and Lucathia

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Sun Knight belongs to Yu Wo. No monetary profit is being made from this fic.

**Notes: **Co-written with Kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine! This is now an illustrated fic! Whenever Kiyutsuna illustrates a scene, those drawings are posted along with the fic on AO3 (Archive of Our Own) and on LJ (livejournal). Links to AO3 and LJ can be found on my profile page.

* * *

**Slice 3: The Art of Eavesdropping  
**

* * *

**Roland **

'Dear Duke xxx,

The Church of God of Light cordially invites you to the wedding of our 38th Sun Knight and Judgment Knight - Grisia Sun and Lesus Judgment.

Please join us on this momentous occasion to celebr-'

_"Lesus, pleaaaaaaaaaase!"_

I paused, ears perking up at the voices coming through the wall.

_"I am _not_ wearing a dress Grisia. It would be an appalling sight."_

Ah, so it was this argument again. I wonder what kind of approach Grisia would take this time.

Yesterday, he had tried to annoy Lesus by following him around and asking him to wear the dress every hour or so, which resulted in a very fed up Lesus. Who then threatened to cut off Grisia's blueberry pie supply if he did not stop his bothersome antics. Pie obviously ranked higher than his plan on Grisia's list of priorities, for he left Lesus alone after that.

The day before yesterday, he had tried to bribe Lesus with... certain activities that apparently involved "letting you top for a month." I'm not quite certain on what that implies, but obviously it was not appealing enough for Lesus to relent. That particular conversation was quite confusing. I could not figure out what was so bribe-worthy about "topping." Were they talking about dessert? Maybe Grisia was offering for Lesus to choose the topping on the wedding cake?

Anyway, I will refrain from mentioning the rest of that conversation. Even though it made little sense to me, Storm had said it involved many adult activities that are not suitable for younger audiences. Upon asking for clarification, he had only smirked and offered to "show me if I want." I am not sure if that is a good idea. It would be a waste of food seeing that I did not need to eat.

I settled back to writing. Due to the sheer amount of invitations I'd written today, it wasn't hard to put my attention elsewhere and let muscle memory take care of the words. Even though eavesdropping was an action unbefitting of a knight, in this particular situation the pros of it outweighed any cons. For the information gained was vital to the survival of our Storm Knight. So to ensure that Storm would not suffer a fate similar to mine, I kept my ears peeled.

_"And you think it would look any better on me?!"_

I wonder if that was what they call an rhetorical question.

It was very easy to judge based on Grisia's body build that a dress would fit him better. After all, clerics wore robes all the time, and those were quite similar to dresses in structure. On the other hand, Lesus had a knight's build through and through, and try as I may I could not imagine him in anything but pants.

After a long pause, a frustrated groan came from Grisia.

_"Just because I'm not as muscular as you doesn't mean I should wear a dress! Why does everybody assume that I'm the one to wear the dress?!"_

_"Because you would make a much more beautiful bride."_

Another pause. As I finished writing the invitation in front of me, I vaguely wondered if Lesus would be able to end tonight's argument like this.

While it's true that mind games and ruses were Grisia's strong point, one mustn't underestimate Lesus' capability of manipulation either. After settling into this room and overhearing many conversations floating over from next door, my respect for Lesus had risen to another level entirely. It is impossible not to admire how well he can deal with Grisia. In fact, I honestly think that he may be the only person who can effectively handle Grisia's every quirk. Which is not only beneficial to the rest of us, but Grisia as well. Lesus provides the unwavering stability that he needs to remain grounded. A Grisia left unchecked is a fearsome concept, as we had all learnt from the Demon King case.

It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that they're getting married now. I felt like it wasn't that long ago that we were all still candidates at the holy knight selections, when the three of us first met through helping Grisia beat away bullies. I felt my lips lift into a smile as I began the next invitation. Thinking back, we really hadn't changed all that much from when we were children. Grisia is still exploiting everybody around him, with Lesus by his side supporting his every action. As for myself, being no longer alive counts as quite a large change, doesn't it? But other than that, I don't think I am too different from how I used to be.

However, we had grown up, and matured. Grisia and Lesus now bear the heavy burdens of leading the whole temple. And I am proud to be able to stand by their side as the Hell Knight. Though this is a position I would have never dreamt I'd fill, I now cherish it with my whole being. Even though my identity as a Death Monarch will always haunt me, I am content here, with the knights who have taught me the meaning of family and allowed me to truly _live_.

I was snapped out of my inner musing when Grisia spoke up again. This time, his voice took a calculating tone. I shuddered, as that tone never bode well for whoever he was targeting.

_"Lesus."_

Lesus, may the God of Light bless you. I wholeheartedly pray for your well-being.

_"...What is it…"_

_"If I remember correctly, you still owe me two demands, right?"_

I held my breath, put my pen down, and listened with all my focus. Something told me this conversation was vital, and I wouldn't want to miss a word of it.

_"Grisia, you can't be thinking of-"_

_"I am using my second demand right now."_

_"... Are you serious?"_

_"Yes. Very serious. My second demand is that you're wearing the dress for our wedding."_

If I hadn't already been holding my breath, I would have surely gasped. To think that Grisia would go so far just to make Lesus wear the wedding dress! It was no secret that Grisia had a complex over his masculinity (or rather, the lack thereof), but I never would have thought it was that extreme.

A long sigh came from the other end of the wall. It sounded like Lesus had resigned himself to his fate. Perhaps he had known all along that this was the inevitable end. After all, when Grisia has his mind set upon something, there is very little anybody could do to sway him. Come to think of it, it was quite a feat for Lesus to have lasted this long against Grisia.

_"Fine. I will wear the dress."_

_"Yay-"_

_"But! I have three conditions."_

Only someone like Lesus could talk conditions with Grisia at this point. In my mind, I was silently clapping for him.

_"One. I get to pick the dress myself."_

_"Fair enough."_

_"Two. I am not wearing a garter. So you can forget about that whole notion right now."_

_"Awwww. But Lesus! It's tradition!"_

_"Grisia, we've already thrown tradition out the window by getting married. Surely something this trivial does not matter at this point."_

_"... Fine."_

Once again I must commend Lesus on his quick thinking. The image of Lesus in a dress was shocking enough already. I would not want my mental fortitude tested by the sight of Lesus wearing a garter. Shaking my head to get rid of that disturbing thought, I distracted myself by finishing the last invitation in front of me.

_"Three… The deal that I get to top you for a month still stands, right?"_

_"...You!"_

_"Surely the respectable Sun Knight would not go back on his word."_

_"Argh, fine! Have it your way…"_

_"It's a deal then. I'm looking forward to our honeymoon."_

_"...! a;sldkfja;slkdfjas;ld!"_

By this point, I figured that I'd heard enough. So I quickly gathered up the piles of paper on my desk and made my way to the Storm Knight's room. When it comes to important pieces of gossip, one must waste no time in sharing it. That was something I had learnt from Storm.

* * *

_Knock knock._

"Who is it…"

"It's me, Roland."

"Oh… come in then…"

As I opened the door, I was greeted by the familiar sight of a room covered by paper. In the midst of all the paper sprawled Ceo Storm, who looked to be on the verge of death, yet was still diligently going through the stacks that covered his desk.

I placed my pile of invitations on the side of the room reserved for finished paperwork. Despite the way it looks, Storm's room is actually very organized, with specific spots for specific types of paperwork. Unfortunately, only Storm himself knows exactly where to put what. The extent of my knowledge ends at being able to decipher between the locations of finished and unfinished paperwork.

"Storm, I put the finished invitations by the window," I dutifully informed him.

"Ah, thanks Roland." Storm looked up and gave me a tired smile. "Could you help me with the stacks on the desk? These budget expenses need to be reviewed by tomorrow."

I nodded, and sat down in a spare chair across from Storm. As I began working on the expense forms, I could not help but observe my companion with concern. The black bags under his eyes were much heavier than usual, and his skin was border lining an ashen tone. In short, Storm looked more like a Death Knight than myself.

"...Storm. When was the last time you slept?"

"Huh…?" He blinked at me owlishly. "Uh… I can't really remember…"

I frowned. That did not sound good.

"You need to sleep. Go get some rest and I'll finish up the paperwork."

"What?! But there is so much! I can't stop now!" He protested, gesturing at the overflowing piles of paper on the desk.

It was true that the amount of paperwork due was frighteningly large. But I was determined that Storm should rest. Inspired by the conversation I had just overheard, I decided to try my hand at bargaining.

"I just overheard Sun and Judgment talking about the wedding dress," I began slowly.

Storm jolted as if someone had just electrocuted him, and looked up at me with wide eyes that brimmed with eagerness.

"What did they say? Have they finally decided? Tell me everything!"

"They did come to a decision." I smiled, "And it was a very interesting discussion too."

"Don't leave me hanging, Roland! Who's gonna wear the dress?!"

Storm's face was only inches from my own now. I must say having his bloodshot eyes staring at me with such mad intensity was somewhat frightening.

"I'll tell you, but on one condition," I mimicked Lesus' words.

"Anything! Just tell me!"

"You have to go to sleep right after."

I looked at Storm straight in the eyes to let him know that I was dead serious. And he stared back at me with an expression that looked like a mix between disbelief and amusement. Slowly, he sank back into his chair and chuckled.

"You win, Roland. I promise I'll sleep." He smiled at me. "Can you tell me what happened now?"

Satisfied with his answer, I wasted no more time on updating Storm with the news.

"Sun used one of his three demands from Judgment to make him wear the dress. Judgment agreed, but with three condi-"

"JUDGMENT IS WEARING THE DRESS?!"

Storm shouted, surprise and shock coloring his expression. He then immediately covered his own mouth, eyes darting around as if to make sure nobody overheard his outburst. After a few seconds of silence, he began to laugh. At first it was just a giggle; then he was visibly shaking from laughter. I stared at him in concern. _Has Storm finally cracked from overwork?_

"Thank goodness!" he blurted, apparently done laughing. "I was going to bet on Sun too. Thank the God of Light for all this paperwork taking up my time! Haha!

"You sure saved me Roland. Thank you for the news!"

I smiled weakly, even though I was relieved that Storm was simply celebrating his good luck and hadn't gone entirely crazy. Still, his grin looked somewhat too croaked for me to put down my worries.

"Oh right! What are those conditions you were talking about?" He asked, apparently just remembering the fact that I didn't get to finish my sentence.

I repeated Lesus' words back to Storm. By the third condition, he was in a laughing fit again.

"Ahahaha… Oh dear God of Light, Judgment in a garter! Ahahaha! And way to get back at Sun! Looks like the bride's role will be reversed for their honeymoon hahaha!"

At this point, I was really concerned. So I got up, plucked the still laughing Storm from his chair, and towed him to his bed. It took some work clearing away enough space for a person to lie down without getting suffocated by paper. But after a few minutes, Storm was neatly tucked in under blankets.

"I've upheld my end of the deal. Now it's time for you to sleep," I told him sternly.

Storm regarded me with a strange expression, as if he was seeing me for the first time and was sizing me up. After looking me over for a few more seconds, he snuggled himself further under the blankets and closed his eyes.

"Okay, Roland."

Relieved by his cooperation, I went back to the desk to continue going through the daunting pile of paperwork there. Halfway through the form I was filling out, Storm stirred.

"Roland, you're the best," he mumbled, seemingly half asleep already. "Can I marry you?"

I stared at him.

"But I am an undead creature."_ Marrying me would be nothing but a burden to you._

"And that's great… Who else can go without sleep and food to hel me whi papewuu...zzzzz."

I was stunned. Partly by Storm's words, and partly by the fact that he had fallen asleep mid-sentence.

However, is it really possible for me to… marry someone? Already the life I am living is a luxury, granted to me by Grisia. Dare I allow myself to ask for even more than what I already undeservingly have?

I sighed. These were questions I would have to ponder over. But for now, there was a desk full of paperwork to get through. So with one last glance at the peacefully sleeping Storm, I picked up my pen and continued writing.

* * *

to be continued

**Kiyutsuna:** With this chapter, the Ceo/Roland ship sets sail~ *dabs tear* To think it all started with a simple "Can I marry you?"... 3

**Lucathia:** Storm is truly too powerful. He has even gotten Roland to be his ears! *touched* Grisia is truly too powerful as well. XD Lesus in a dress~~.

The poll "Sun and Judgment are getting married! Who do you think will wear the wedding dress in A Slice of Wedding Cake? Place your bets!" has now closed. Grisia was the winner, as we expected with 78% of the votes, 18 out of 23 votes. XD Surprisingly, Judgment had 22% of the votes, 5 out of the 23 votes! Shout out to everyone who bet on Lesus, and especially to chocolaty and Purpleflower00 for being spot on with the reasoning why Judgment would end up in the dress (Sun would _never_ agree) and 100thAngel for even figuring out how Sun would go about making Judgment agree to the dress.

Too bad... Sun would have looked nice in a dress. Look forward to everyone's reactions... XD


	4. Slice 4: The Latest Fashion

A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Kiyutsuna and Lucathia

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Sun Knight belongs to Yu Wo. No monetary profit is being made from this fic.

**Notes: **Co-written with Kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine! Check out the illustrations that go with each chapter on AO3 or livejournal!

* * *

**Slice 4: The Latest Fashion  
**

* * *

**Chasel**

I was always glad that my student never usually did anything unreasonable. Ever since I had met him, I'd known him to be responsible and dutiful. He was far more upstanding than any of the other Judgment Knight candidates at the selection, and I was only too thankful that he had sneaked into the Holy Temple that day and solved my biggest problem. The rest of the boys who had applied to the Judgment Knight position were all little rascals. I could not in good conscience leave the city's future safety in any of their hands.

Unlike any of the others chosen along with Lesus, my student was never a handful. Fahr often complained about Chikus running off yet again or breaking one too many doors. Lanbi always complained about Ceo being too shy. Eller was always afraid Ecilan would end up getting dismissed because he did not know how to appear stoic. Each of them complained here and there, but no one complained as much as Neo.

"He snuck more candy into his room!"

"He fell off his horse _again_!"

"He froze the entire forest with ice magic!"

"He went and solved my case behind my back!"

I could only shake my head each time. Like teacher, like student.

In my case, while Lesus did react badly to interrogations, he did his best to keep his reactions controlled all the time. He had never ever carried out his duties unsuccessfully, and he always diligently trained with his sword. I had never needed to spend much time training Lesus in character development classes, as he had always solemnly accepted his role.

In fact, while I did not worry over needing to replace Lesus with a back-up candidate, I did worry over his mental fortitude. He was always so focused and serious, his own harshest critic. Being the Judgment Knight required one to harden his heart and would be especially tough for someone as kind as Lesus. We Judgment Knights needed to show cruelty, yet we could not forget ourselves in the process either. Would Lesus be able to stand the pressure?

I worried all the way until the day I caught Lesus scaling one of the courtyard walls. He stood on the tip of his toes to reach a tall branch to pull himself up. I watched curiously, having never known Lesus to break rules. He took a furtive look around once he was on top of the wall, and then he jumped off the top to the other side.

He didn't return until much later. A bundle came up over the wall first before a head of black showed up, eyes darting around to see if the coast was clear. He then pulled himself onto the wall and heaved a sigh of relief when he had the bundle back in his hand. He had on a look of fond exasperation as he glanced down at the bundle, but he quickly wiped the expression off of his face.

After that, he started climbing down the wall, bundle held carefully in his grasp.

I watched all of this amusedly from behind a tree.

Later, I found out from Neo that his student Grisia had produced a pie out of nowhere. From the glances Grisia and Lesus shared and thought they were hiding whenever the pie was mentioned, it was obvious to me how Grisia had acquired that pie.

I took to observing Lesus more, but he never showed any indication that he had left the Holy Temple without permission. I hadn't known my student was that sneaky! Later, I began to notice that Lesus actually started to hold himself higher, as if he were no longer plagued by what his position required of him. It was ironic, really, that a bout of sneakiness was what brought forth higher self esteem.

It had always been Grisia who could make Lesus do things that surprised me, and it had always been Grisia who brightened his world, and who made him accept himself.

While Lesus _usually_ never did anything unreasonable, I'd always known that that was only in the case that Grisia wasn't involved.

In this case, Grisia was _very_ much involved.

"I'm getting married, Teacher," was my student's first words to me after we exchanged pleasantries. He was never one to beat around the bush. Two warm cups of tea sat between us.

Marriage itself would not have been shocking. Wen had married early on, nearly right after we took up our positions. Lesus was indeed at the age to get married, and considering how Elmairy was already married, perhaps starting a tradition of the Leaf Knights getting married first, Lesus would not even be the first of his generation to get married.

Lesus, who sat across from me, was truly no longer a boy. His shoulders were broad and his face sharp. He had filled out admirably over the years, his slender build replaced by a strong physique. Standing, he would even be taller than me, and I had no doubt that he would best me in a swordfight eight out of ten times. He and his fellow holy knights had even experienced more hardships than my generation, having had to deal with lands of darkness expanding exponentially and the subsequent birth of the Demon King. He had shouldered all of that and lived to tell it. This, I believed, was well beyond the student surpassing the teacher. I couldn't have been prouder.

I took a sip of my tea, and just as Lesus was drinking his, I said, "So, who is the lucky person? Grisia?"

Thanks to his many years of training, Lesus did not outwardly choke on his tea. He gently placed his cup down and cleared his throat. It only took a few tries before he could speak. Not bad. "H...How did you know?"

_How could anyone not know?_

I too placed my cup down.

"There is truly no one who can make you feel as strongly as he does," I murmured. Whether it was anger, relief, happiness, exasperation, pride, protectiveness, it didn't matter. The list was endless, and Grisia always brought out these emotions in the strongest of ways. I was not surprised that the other person was Grisia. I was only surprised that they had actually decided to get married.

After all, the Judgment Knight and the Sun Knight getting married was unheard of, and they must know that this would not be an easy journey.

Of course, Grisia and Lesus never were ones to settle for anything easy.

Lesus was lost in thought for a moment, a soft smile coming over his face. He clasped his hands around his cup. Finally, he looked up from his cup and said, "You're absolutely right, Teacher."

I smiled. There was truly no one else who could make my student look like this, unguarded and smitten.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," I said.

I held my cup up. Lesus held his up. We clinked them together.

Just as I took a sip, Lesus, and I suspected his timing was as purposeful as mine, said, "By the way, I will be wearing the wedding dress."

Instantly, I felt the tea slide down the wrong way, but my years of experience as the Judgment Knight were not for nothing either. I quietly coughed twice, and then I placed the cup down. I swept my eyes across his broad shoulders and his muscular physique.

Still, former Judgment Knight I may be, even I could not help the disbelief that ran across my face.

Lesus had on an awkward expression. "I know, right? It is shocking."

My student, along with being responsible and dutiful, was not one to joke around. If he said he would be wearing the wedding dress, then he would be wearing the wedding dress.

Lanbi had always thought of Ceo as a daughter to be taken care of. Ceo used to blush the brightest of reds whenever he was flustered, and his long hair only added to the image. Had I always been thinking of Lesus in the wrong way? Perhaps he would have liked to wear his hair long like mine.

Lesus sighed. "The truth is, I owe Grisia three demands. He decided on this as his second one."

_Ah, Grisia again._

My student was definitely no pushover, but he could never win against Grisia.

It had always been so, from the day Lesus decided to climb walls to buy blueberry pies for Grisia.

_No, perhaps even before then?_

* * *

As the closest thing Lesus had to a parent, I accompanied him on his shopping trip for a wedding dress. Although his uncle or aunt could have claimed the spot in the past, Lesus confessed that he felt closer to me after all the years we had spent together and all that I had taught him. I could not help but feel touched. (Though part of me did wonder if he just didn't want his uncle or aunt to see him in a dress just yet.)

I made a stop along the way to send a letter I had penned to Aldrizzt, along with the wedding invitation that Lesus had brought with him. Luckily for Grisia and Lesus, Neo and Aldrizzt were not adventuring too far away at the moment. The last status update I had received from Aldrizzt indicated that they were within the borders of the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound.

"They should be able to make it back in time for the wedding," I told Lesus.

"Thanks, we didn't know how to contact Grisia's teacher," Lesus said.

"It's a good thing we have Aldrizzt around," I replied. It was likely, however, that it wasn't that they didn't have the means to contact Neo. They would just rather Aldrizzt break the news to Neo, and they would rather I break the news to Aldrizzt. After all, Neo's reaction was bound to be explosive.

With that taken care of, we made our way to a wedding dress shop suggested by the princess. It seemed that the rest of the holy knights would have a tailor sent to the Holy Temple, but since Lesus did not want to try on dresses in front of so many of his brothers, he had opted to come to this shop instead. I did not blame him.

The moment we took a step inside the shop, it fell completely silent. Then, all chaos broke loose.

"Oh my God of Light! It's the Judgment Knight! No, it's not even just _the _Judgment Knight! Even the former Judgment Knight is here!"

"I didn't do it!" one person shouted.

"It was him! He hid the money!" another person shouted.

"Don't drag me off to the Judge's Complex!" a third person shouted. "I promise I will pay the taxes I forgot to pay!"

"You are holding up our reputation well," I commented.

Lesus inclined his head. From watching his profile, I thought he was probably thinking, _But that might not hold for much longer._

After that, Lesus squared himself and walked forward, robes billowing out impressively. He looked every inch the formidable Judgment Knight, leaving behind the relaxed air he had allowed himself in my presence. In an instant, the clamor died down. Then, Lesus said, in the silence that followed, "I wish to be fitted for a wedding dress."

I had to hand it to my student. His delivery was excellent.

All of the shop assistants turned into statues, and so did the three customers who had pleaded their innocence. Finally, one shop assistant unfroze and said, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

Once again, Lesus said, "I wish to be fitted for a wedding dress."

A customer unfroze to blurt out, "Are you sure it's not for the _former_ Judgment Knight instead?"

Apparently, that was all it took for all of them to unfreeze, as everyone's eyes swerved to stare at me. They were no doubt paying attention to my very long hair and my much slimmer physique in comparison.

"I assure you, I am not the one getting married," I said.

With wide eyes, all turned their attention to Lesus. "JUDGMENT KNIGHT IS GETTING MARRIED?"

_Of course. Why else would he need a wedding dress?_

I covered my mouth. It would not do to laugh at my student's predicament.

* * *

As expected of a shop chosen by the princess, the shop assistants quickly regained their professionalism. Two shop assistants continued helping the three customers, while one came over to help Lesus try on dresses.

"What do you have in mind, sir?" asked the shop assistant. Apparently, they had decided it would be best to send their lone male worker over rather than have one of the female workers deal with a Judgment Knight who wanted a wedding dress.

"Your latest fashion," Lesus said.

My eyebrows nearly shot up.

Lesus then added, "My betrothed would like me to try that first."

The shop assistant gulped and wringed his hands. "If you say so! Right this way. Ah, over here, I mean. I'm afraid none of the dresses over there are your size..."

I waited outside while Lesus tried on the wedding dress. I had not gotten a good look at it before the curtains were drawn. All I knew was that it was suspiciously pink.

When Lesus emerged from the dressing room, it was only because of all the years I spent controlling my emotions that I did not outwardly react...too much.

The dress was extravagant, to say the least, and very, very pink, with many layers and lots of frills and lace. There was even a large bow on the back, like what one might put on a present, giving me the disturbing image of Lesus saying, "Surprise! I'm your present!" None of that, however, was what stood out to me the most.

It was only moments ago that I had been admiring Lesus' broad shoulders and how he had grown up and filled out his frame. The dress truly...showed off his broad shoulders, as his shoulders were entirely bare, and the laced top of his dress looked to be bursting around the seams.

However, I very much doubted the dress was supposed to bring so much attention to how broad his shoulders were, nor was it supposed to be bursting around the seams.

Stiffly, Lesus lifted the dress and walked forward, revealing matching pink high heels underneath complete with mini bows. I had to wonder how they were even able to find a pair in his size.

The shop assistant wrung his hands and forced a smile. "What do you think? The size is a little small, but we can resize any dress that catches your fancy."

I stared. Everyone else in the shop had stopped whatever they were doing to stare too. Lesus himself seemed speechless. He probably hadn't known what he was getting himself into, but an honest knight never went back on his word.

I finally found my voice and resolutely said, "No, definitely not this one."

Lesus was not the only one who looked relieved at my words. Even the shop assistant relaxed his shoulders and said, "If you say so!"

I was only too thankful when the curtains closed behind Lesus, but apparently we were too late, as one of the customers had already fainted from the sight. I held my head, nearly a hundred percent certain that Neo's student must have known _exactly_ what the latest fashion was and how disastrous it would look on Lesus.

After that, the shop assistant said, "If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, perhaps we should try something outside of the latest fashion?"

It was obvious that pink, frills, and bare-shoulders did not go well together with Lesus, though I wasn't very assured from the start that any dress would look good on Lesus. The shop assistant didn't despair though, and started bringing out wedding dresses of all sorts of designs for Lesus to choose from.

"Perhaps black is more your color?" the shop assistant suggested, seemingly no longer afraid he would end up offending us and end up in prison. After all, even ending up in prison probably wouldn't top seeing Lesus in a dress of the "latest fashion."

"Perhaps," Lesus said. He sighed and chose a dress.

When he next emerged from behind the curtain, I shook my head. While his appearance was not as shocking as before, I still could not say that he wouldn't give little kids nightmares.

"Hm," said the shop assistant. "I believe we should put away all of the dresses of this cut and instead go for something simpler that would look sharper on you. Believe me, there are broad-shouldered women out there too, so there is no need to despair!"

It seemed that the shop assistant had caught on to Lesus' negative emotions. He was truly a professional. Perhaps a generous tip was in order. Lesus nodded his understanding, steeled himself, and headed back to the dressing room with a much more modest black dress.

This time, when the curtains were pulled back and Lesus walked out solemnly, I looked him over and thought that he actually looked passable. The cut of the dress was very simple and actually made him look refined instead of frightening. The dress still bore ruffles, but they were reduced to just a few that helped obscure his broad chest. They were no different to the ruffles you might find on one of Grisia's shirts.

"This dress will..." I was about to say "this dress will do," but I let my sentence trail off. Although he looked much more presentable now, there was still something _off_ about his current appearance despite that he was dressed in his usual black, but I couldn't put my finger to it.

The shop assistant frowned and held out a veil. Once Lesus put it on, a sudden realization came over me. The shop assistant seemed to have come to the same realization because he blurted out, "Sir, may I suggest a white dress instead?"

"Why?" Lesus asked with a frown.

With a forced smile, the shop assistant said, "Well, you see, it would not do to look like you are in mourning."

_Indeed. With the veil and his solemn expression, Lesus looks more like he is wearing a funeral dress than a wedding dress._

In the end, we settled on a white dress of the same design. He looked elegant in its simplicity, and the dress accentuated his excellent posture instead of bringing unwanted attention to broad shoulders. The shop assistant promised that the dress would be delivered to the Holy Temple within a week after they finished the necessary tailoring.

As we left the shop, Lesus was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Are you regretting your decision to marry Grisia?" I asked.

"...Maybe," Lesus answered glumly, once more appearing much more like my student instead of the imposing Judgment Knight who could strike fear even into hearts of the vilest of villains.

I clasped Lesus on the shoulder, his thankfully, well-covered shoulder, and said in utmost seriousness, "Child, you are truly very admirable."

After all, few would be willing to go this far for their lover.

I had always known that Lesus was very responsible and dutiful, never one to do unreasonable things. Only Grisia ever made him lose reason, and I had always thought it to be a good thing...

But now I was not so sure anymore.

* * *

to be continued

**Kiyutsuna:** *Hides* I take no responsibility for any damages done by the illustration (There was a warning! xD). However, the Judgment Complex welcomes any complaints you may have...  
**  
Lucathia:** *flails* I cannot stop flailing at Kiyu over that drawing. XD; And then I had a blast having Kiyu flail at me while I wrote the chapter that went along with the drawing. Oh Chasel, props to you for remaining somewhat...composed over Lesus wearing the "latest fashion"!

(The illustration mentioned can be viewed on AO3 or livejournal. So far, there has been at least one illustration per chapter outside of the prologue. Check them out~. Here are the illustrations included so far:

Slice 2: Adair and Vidar by the fire  
Slice 3: Roland tucking Ceo in bed  
Slice 4: Lesus in the latest fashion, with a bonus pic of Grisia)

Thanks for reading, everyone! Your reviews have been awesome! Until the next chapter! o7


	5. Slice 5: All About Balance

A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Kiyutsuna and Lucathia

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Sun Knight belongs to Yu Wo. No monetary profit is being made from this fic.

**Notes: **Co-written with Kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine! Check out the illustrations that go with each chapter on AO3 or livejournal!

* * *

**Slice 5: All About Balance  
**

* * *

**Vidar**

Ever since we returned from the joint training camp, the Sun Knight Platoon has been joined by the Judgment Knight Platoon in their morning run. After witnessing the extent of the sun knights' endurance, it was clear that we had a lot to catch up on. Just because the two platoons were on much better terms now, did not mean it was alright to be outdone by them. So, nine laps around the city were added to our morning routine.

To the credit of the Judgment Knight Platoon, it only took a few days before we were able to complete the run without collapsing at the end. In fact, today the judgment knights even had enough energy left over to join the sun knights in their morning routine of gossiping. While I was glad to see the two platoons getting along, I could not help but frown at this particular aspect they had decided to bond over. Not that there was anything particularly _bad_ about gossiping, but it would not do for judgment knights to be caught gossiping! _What would Captain think if he were to find out?_

I voiced my concerns to Adair as we made our way to the captains' rooms that morning. To my surprise, he responded with a lighthearted laugh.

"Don't worry so much," Adair said with a grin. "The Sun Knight Platoon is expert at avoiding being caught. To this day, even Captain has not directly caught us gossiping!"

My eyes widened at his words. The sun knights were full of surprises. I had truly underestimated them too much in the past.

* * *

Soon, we arrived at our destination. Adair came to a stop in front of Knight-Captain Sun's door as I stopped in front of Captain Judgment's. We exchanged a glance, then knocked on the doors at the same time.

Ever since Captain and Knight-Captain Sun began seeing each other, Adair and I would often find them emerging from the same room when we arrived to await orders. In the beginning, they had tried to be more discreet. Likewise, we cooperated with them. I never questioned why my captain had the scent of lavender on him sometimes, just as Adair never questioned his captain's stiff way of walking on certain mornings. And both of us would leave immediately whenever... suspicious sounds came from the other side of the door.

There were certain things I would rather not know about my captain. Bedroom activities were without a doubt top of that list.

As their relationship became less of a secret, the chances of seeing them in the same room became more frequent. By the time their marriage was announced, it was a rare sight to see them emerge from different rooms. However, in order to keep up appearances, Adair and I still dutifully knock on both doors. At this point, though unspoken, this routine has become a game of sorts for us- Which door would open? Whose room would they be in today? It was a silly thing really, but it did make the otherwise mundane routine more interesting.

Today, the door in front of me opened. Captain Judgment stepped out, looking stoic and impressive as usual. Knight-Captain Sun followed right after, with a beaming smile on his face.

"Captain!"

Adair and I saluted together. As usual, our captains nodded at us, then began to address today's duties.

"Vidar," Captain Judgment spoke. "Today you are to follow Knight-Captain Sun's orders. For I will be out on an errand."

_Yes si-... wait, I have to follow... Knight-Captain Sun's orders for the day? What's going on?_ Despite how confused I felt, I quickly schooled my expression to not let it show on my face. Captain's orders were never without reason.

"Yes sir!" I replied resolutely.

Captain regarded me with a look of satisfaction, which made me swell up with pride inside. Then, he turned to Knight-Captain Sun.

"I trust that you will take care of the rest?" He asked, then added with a worried frown, "Don't go too overboard."

"Of course," Knight-Captain Sun replied with a smile that looked almost cheeky. "Leave it to me. You just focus on your... errand."

While I was glad that the captains trusted us enough to speak plainly in our presence, the conversation was still so cryptic they might as well have been speaking with the God of Light speech. I looked over at Adair to see if he might have a better idea of what was going on. Catching my glance, he gave a small shrug to show that even he had no clue either. It looked like we could only wait and see.

After bidding goodbye to Captain Judgment, Knight-Captain Sun turned to us. His ever-present smile was now business-like.

"Under the guidance of the benevolent God of Light, Sun and his brothers have much to do today. To prepare for Sun's humble wedding, we must be fitted for the garments that are to be worn. Thank the God of Light for granting Sun aid in the form of not one, but two capable vice-captains. Sun is truly grateful."

...I take back my previous statement. Obviously, the simplicity of Knight-Captain Sun's speech was only due to Captain Judgment's presence. Now that Captain was gone, it seemed like I will have to try and decipher his words all day. Thankfully Adair is here with me; he had never had a problem with translating his captain's words.

"Adair," Knight-Captain Sun called out. "Sun believes that under the shining light of His benevolence, the merchants will enjoy even more prosperity on this beautiful day. Sun is deeply touched by the God of Light's kindness; not only will he be praying wholeheartedly all day, he will be sure to share this joy with his dear brothers."

"Yes, Captain!" Adair answered without missing a beat. "I will go and contact the tailors to do suit fittings for all the knight-captains. Which prayer room should we meet you in?"

"The God of Light is never far away from us. One only has to reach out to feel his blessings."

"Understood. I will bring the tailors to the prayer room nearest to the knight-captains' chambers."

I could not help but gape. No matter how many times I witnessed it, I could never get over how Adair can interpret his captains words so easily. It just doesn't make sense! But enough of that. The more pressing issue on hand is that... Adair is leaving! Without him, how will I be able to understand Knight-Captain Sun's words?

_Adair! Don't leave me here alone with your captain...!_

* * *

Knight-Captain Sun must be in a very good mood today. He actually took care to tone down his speech when he spoke to me.

"Radar, the compassionate God of Light bids Sun to fetch his brothers. Won't you aid me in this endeavor?"

Even though I knew that he was purposefully calling the wrong name, I refused to resign myself to being called "Radar."

"Understood. Also, my name is Vidar." I replied. Then, I suddenly realized something important. "Knight-Captain Sun, if I may ask... Will Captain Judgment be back in time for the suit fitting?"

His smile widened.

"Certainly not, Radar. For Knight-Captain Judgment will not be needing a suit." His expression softened into an amused one as he added, "...Lesus will make quite a beautiful bride, don't you think?"

In that instant, I felt my world crumble into pieces.

* * *

I am ashamed to admit that I could not recall how exactly we rounded up the rest of the Twelve Holy Knights. The shock of hearing that my captain is to wear the wedding dress was too great. I could only follow after Knight-Captain Sun in a daze as we went around gathering people.

Soon enough, eleven knight-captains plus myself stood in the empty prayer room. After Knight-Captain Sun explained the day's activities to the other knight-captains, the room exploded with cries of disbelief.

"Where is Captain Judgmeeeent?!"

"You have got to be kidding me! Judgment, in a dress?!"

"Why is this happening... My betting money..."

"Sun, you're in the wrong place!"

"I refuse to believe this! I won't believe this until the wedding!"

In a way, the knight-captains' outbursts actually made me feel better. At least I wasn't the only one who found this news to be shocking. Almost everyone in the room wore expressions of utter disbelief.

Almost.

Knight-Captain Storm seemed to be too busy dozing off to care about the ruckus around him. And Knight-Captain Hell had his gaze fixed on Knight-Captain Storm, with a look of worry. I suppose Knight-Captain Storm did look to be in danger of toppling over. Neither of them were paying much attention to the bomb Knight-Captain Sun had just dropped. Which made me wonder if they had already known the news.

The ones who really caught my attention though, were Knight-Captain Ice and Knight-Captain Leaf. The former actually had a small smile on his face, while the latter was beaming as if he had just won a hundred gold ducats... Ah! They must have bet on Captain Judgment! Come to think of it, Adair had bet on Captain Judgment too. That lucky bastard, I should make him treat our platoons to drinks next time.

Knight-Captain Sun's smile twitched as he beheld the knights in front of him. I could almost see the tick marks appearing on his head. Then, as if just remembering something, his face suddenly lit up with a shining smile that looked much too happy. I felt an eerie sense of déjà vu as I involuntarily took a step back along with all the other knight-captains. _Adair... Why must you pick up on your captain's scary habits?_

"Before the kind God of Light sends the tailors to us, Sun needs to discuss a very important matter with his beloved brothers." Knight-Captain Sun began cheerfully, "As per tradition, the bride and groom need to be accompanied by a bridesmaid and best man. Under the God of Light's benevolent guidance, Sun has decided to entrust brother Hell with the role of his best man."

Everyone turned to stare at Knight-Captain Hell, who looked very flustered under all the attention. He sputtered a bit, then tried to put his hands up as a gesture of protest, but stopped mid-way because Knight-Captain Storm had fallen asleep while leaning on his shoulder. Unable to move, Knight-Captain Hell could only glance around helplessly before resigning himself to nodding his acceptance.

Satisfied, Knight-Captain Sun continued to talk.

"The God of Light teaches his children the importance of balance. Therefore, we have decided the bridesmaid shall be chosen from the faction under Sun's leadership, seeing that brother Hell belongs to the faction of Sun's betrothed." He paused to let that sink in. As the knight-captains from the warm faction began glancing at each other in anticipation, Knight-Captain Sun revealed the reason behind his frightening smile earlier:

"So, which one of Sun's brothers would like to accompany Knight-Captain Judgment and be adorned in a dress?"

Immediately, the knight-captains all looked to Knight-Captain Sun in horror. Then, in a rare display of complete synchronization, the knight-captains in the warm faction collectively took a step back. Even Knight-Captain Cloud, whom I have not seen since entering the room, appeared for long enough to make his retreat show.

Which left Knight-Captain Storm, who was still fast asleep with his head nestled upon Knight-Captain Hell's shoulder. Interestingly, Knight-Captain Hell did not seem to mind. He even had a hand on Knight-Captain Storm's arm to make sure he wouldn't fall over. Despite being an undead creature, Knight-Captain Hell is truly a very kind-hearted knight. I can see that Tyler's boasts of his captain's greatness were not simply exaggerations.

Knight-Captain Sun clapped his hands together in a manner that seemed more gleeful than anything else.

"Thank the God of Light's radiance for brother Storm stepping up to the role. Sun is certain that brother Storm would make a stunning bridesmaid."

Upon hearing his name, Knight-Captain Storm jolted up from his slumber. Groggily, he wiped at the bits of drool on the side of his mouth, then gave Knight-Captain Hell an apologetic look before glancing around and asking, "What did I miss? I heard my name and something about a bridesmaid..."

Snickering, Knight-Captain Earth eagerly filled him in.

"H-how brave of, of you Storm. V-volunteering to wear a dr-dress." He stammered unconvincingly, "Ha-have fun being the-the bridesmaid f-for Judgment!"

All trace of sleep was immediately gone from Knight-Captain Storm's face as his jaws dropped in shock.

Knight-Captain Metal chose that moment to chime in, with words that sounded more flattering than poisonous, "With such smooth long hair and a slim physique like that, it'd be a waste not to wear a dress!" With that, he glanced meaningfully at Knight-Captain Sun, who sent him a chilling smile in return. Neither paid attention to Knight-Captain Storm, who looked as if he wanted to drop back to sleep to escape reality.

I could not help but think back to my own captain's short hair and muscular physique. _How will Captain pull off wearing a wedding dress?_

_Captain Judgment, stay strong! Wherever you may be, know that your vice-captain's heart goes out to you!_

* * *

Adair came back with the tailors not long after Knight-Captain Storm's appointment as the bridesmaid. I was beyond glad to see him. The day's events were just too much to take in alone, and Adair's presence is very calming in these situations. I went to stand next to him as the knight-captains began their suit fittings (Knight-Captain Storm was taken to a corner of the room sectioned off by curtains for his dress fitting). Adair seemed to understand my still-somewhat-horrified mood, for he patted me on the shoulder and gave me an encouraging smile. To which I tried my best to return.

We watched the tailors bustle about the knight-captains. Taking measurements, choosing colors and suit styles... The process went quite smoothly; the only interlude to that was when Knight-Captain Sun chose the color for his wedding suit. To the surprise of everyone (except perhaps Adair, since at this point I highly doubted he'd be surprised at anything his captain did), Knight-Captain Sun insisted to be fitted for a black suit. Even the tailors paused to gape. After all, everyone expects the Sun Knight to dress in white. Black is Captain Judgment's color!

Seemingly unfazed by the looks of surprise and confusion around the room, Knight-Captain Sun flashed an innocent smile to the gaping tailor who was laying out white suits for him. Then he began to preach to the tailors in what seemed to be utmost sincerity.

"Sun is terribly sorry for his troublesome request. But he must heed the God of Light's benevolent advice and uphold the theme of balance that oversees the unity between Sun and his beloved. As we speak, the bride is choosing his dress under the God of Light's kind gaze. Sun has no doubt that his bride will be wearing a white dress; therefore, he would like to humbly request to be fitted for a black suit."

I am not quite sure how much of that the tailors actually understood, but it was clear that Knight-Captain Sun will not settle for anything but black. So black it was. As the room resumed its busy state, I continued dwelling on Knight-Captain Sun's comment about a white wedding dress. While fighting the urge to hit my head on the nearest hard surface, I began the process of convincing myself that Captain Judgment would look great no matter what he wore - white wedding gowns included.

* * *

As each knight-captain's suit was decided and all the measurements taken, everyone's attention began to gather at the curtained off corner that Knight-Captain Storm had disappeared to. Anticipation filled the room as finally, the tailor who was in charge of fitting him for a dress stepped out and pulled back the curtains. Knight-Captain Storm stepped out, and the room fell silent as we took in the sight in front of us.

To compliment the Storm Knight's trademark blue hair, the tailor had chosen to put Knight-Captain Storm in a pale orange dress. It was a short dress that cut off at the knees, revealing long, stocking clad legs that ended in a pair of matching orange heels. A large bow adorned the front of the dress, with ruffled short sleeves on the side. Together, they effectively concealed Knight-Captain Storm's chest and shoulders.

I was certain that I was not the only one who was having a hard time remembering that Knight-Captain Storm is not actually female. My suspicions were confirmed as Knight-Captain Moon broke the silence with a shout of:

"A beautiful girl who is over 180 cm tall! Please date me!"

Knight-Captain Storm threw him a dirty look as he tugged at the dress in embarrassment. His face turned even redder when the rest of the knight-captains began to voice their thoughts as well.

"Ah! As Sun had expected, brother Storm indeed looks stunning in a dress!"

"Wow Storm! Who knew you'd make such a pretty girl!"

"Storm! You shouldn't roundhouse kick people while wearing a dress!"

That last comment was from Knight-Captain Leaf, who immediately rushed over in concern to the crack on the wall with Knight-Captain Moon embedded in it. Honestly, I don't blame Knight-Captain Storm. After all, it _was_ kind of overboard when Knight-Captain Moon began attempting to serenade him.

As I was focused on observing the operation to drag Knight-Captain Moon out of the wall, Adair tugged on my arm. When I glanced at him in confusion, he gave me a look that said "interesting gossip," then discreetly pointed a finger at the direction of... Knight-Captain Hell?

As I turned my attention to where Adair was pointing, I soon realized why he had pointed it out. Amidst the chaos brought about by Knight-Captain Moon's trip to the wall, Knight-Captain Hell was the only one who was still rooted to his spot. Upon closer observation, I could tell that his gaze was tightly locked on Knight-Captain Storm. And... Was he actually blushing? Just then, Knight-Captain Storm glanced over and their eyes met. Which caused both of them to freeze, blush, then quickly turn away in a fluster.

I looked back at Adair incredulously, and he gave me a knowing smile in return. Well then, this will be an excellent piece of gossip to share after tomorrow's morning run. I wonder how Tyler will react when he finds out.

* * *

Overall, the suit fitting went successfully. It was now night time, and I was once again heading to the captains' quarters, this time with reports on the day's trials for Captain Judgment. As I approached the door, voices floated from inside the room.

_"You _knew_."_

That was Captain Judgment's voice. My eyes grew wide; his tone was the same as the one he uses when interrogating criminals. What was going on?

_"What? Of course not!"_ Knight-Captain Sun's voice protested.

_"Then explain your insistence that I try _'the latest fashion'_."_

I froze. T-the _latest fashion_?!

_"I just thought it never hurts to be in style! Is it wrong to want you to try on a fashionable dress?"_

"Grisia Sun."

_"... I admit I might have known a _little_ bit about what the latest fashion looked like... So, you actually tried it on?"_

_"Unfortunately, yes."_

_"H-how was it?"_

_"A customer fainted from the sight. Even Teacher looked horrified."_

_"Pfft- No I'm sorry I'm not laughing don't glare at me like that!"_

_"If the fainted customer complains to the temple, _you_ will be taking care of that."_

_"Alright alright. So what kind of dress did you get?"_

_"A simple one. It's in white."_

As the sound of Knight-Captain Sun's excited cries of "I was right!" came through the door, I was still frozen in shock from "the latest fashion." I distinctly recall one of the sun knights mentioning it while gossiping about the wedding dress. And if it is what I imagined it to be... And Captain Judgment actually tried it on... I shuddered violently. Then, I promptly turned on my heel and left the captains' quarters.

The reports could wait until tomorrow morning. I had more pressing matters to worry about. Namely, a much needed therapy session with someone who has much more experience dealing with his captain's image crumbling into something frightening and unwanted.

As fast as my legs could take me, I went to find Adair.

* * *

to be continued

**Kiyutsuna:** I had too much fun with torturing Vidar... I'm sorry Vidar! It's all out of love for you, I swear! XD;;;

**Lucathia:** I cannot get over Storm roundhouse kicking Moon into the wall. It was perfect. XD Also, just how cute is Vidar?

Thank you for all of the reviews, everyone! Check out the chapter on AO3 or livejournal for a drawing of Storm in his bridesmaid dress!


	6. Slice 6: Farewell, Our SM Days

A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Kiyutsuna and Lucathia

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Sun Knight belongs to Yu Wo. No monetary profit is being made from this fic.

**Notes: **Co-written with Kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine! Check out the illustrations that go with each chapter on AO3 or livejournal! Warning, this chapter features Metal's POV. You have been warned! (Don't worry, this is still rated T)

* * *

**Slice 6: Farewell, Our SM Days  
**

* * *

**Metal**

A few days before the wedding, our factions held separate parties for our leaders in a final celebration. When deciding who would organize the bachelor party, I immediately raised my hand and shouted, "Me, me, me! I want to do it!"

Across the conference room, Blaze had also held his hand up, and he'd slammed the table with his other hand, using so much force that the table shook and papers scattered all over.

We blinked owlishly at each other before we flew into an argument over who would organize the party. Obviously, he would not have Captain Judgment's best interests in mind!

While we argued, Storm had snapped awake, his bizarre paperwork senses tingling, and cried out in alarm at all the scattered papers. After Hell helped him gather the papers, Storm crossed his arms. The bags under his eyes were so dark that it looked as if someone had socked him in the eyes. He glowered at both of us, his voice disturbingly calm. "Just hold two parties or something. I don't care as long as I'm not responsible for them."

Under Storm's bloodshot glare, Blaze and I both sat down, duly chastised. Storm was probably way past the point of caring. Over the course of all the wedding preparations, he'd gotten closer and closer to looking like death warmed over. It really wouldn't do for Captain Judgment to have such a ghastly bridesmaid!

Everyone else nodded their agreement, so that was that.

Since Captain Judgment and Sun weren't to see each other during the final days leading up to their wedding, and one was the "bride" and one the groom, two parties actually worked out. Traditionally, the job of organizing the bachelor party (now parties) would fall to the best man, but Hell was much too busy making sure Storm stayed alive. Storm, the bridesmaid, was terrible at taking care of himself and was in no shape to organize the party for their faction either. And so Blaze and I both got our wishes granted.

I hummed to myself as I finished decorating the location of the bachelor party for the "cruel, cold-hearted" faction, putting the last candle in place.

_Or wait. Should this be called a bachelorette party instead?_

I still found it difficult to believe that Captain Judgment would be wearing the dress. _Just how did that no good Sun force Captain Judgment to agree?_

In one fell swoop, most of the Holy Temple had become broke beyond broke because of the shocking turn of events, and we all secretly cursed Sun in our hearts. Or not so secretly, especially when our stomachs rumbled. We'd all been _so_ sure. If not for Ice's many trial wedding cakes, I might've starved. My pockets had become so empty that I'd had to borrow money from my vice-captain to finish the preparations.

None of us had seen the dress yet, since Captain Judgment had gone off to get the dress on his own, and then the shop had sent it over all secretive and stuff. I bit my lips. I couldn't say I _wasn't _curious what he'd look like and what it'd be like to be whipped by him while he was dressed that way.

_Mm, sleek black dress, high heels digging into my back~~, sharp crack of the whip, oh~~_

I finished setting up the interrogation room with a grin on my face. It was perfect. There were all sorts of different interrogation tools and weapons ready for our use, not to mention candles and ropes as well.

Our party was definitely going to own anything Blaze could put together!

* * *

"Tadah!" I said, opening the door to the interrogation room. The six of us piled into the room. The others glanced around, and I thought I heard someone mumble, "Of all places to have a party..."

"Is that a chain whip?" exclaimed Moon.

"Sure is," I grinned.

Ice wordlessly picked up a ball and shackle. Stone inspected the long needles I'd prepared. Hell picked up a set of sharp daggers. Captain Judgment, the star of the party, held a black riding crop. I shivered in anticipation just from seeing it in his hands. The color matched him _perfectly_.

As he put the black riding crop down, Captain Judgment said, face expressionless, "...You really went all out."

_But of course! This is a party for you, Captain Judgment! Nothing less would do. _

There was no way I would let our last time together before his inevitable marriage end on a dismal note!

I beamed and pulled out a chair. "Sit, sit! I can't wait until the main event, but food first!"

Everyone sat down, except for Ice and me. I helped Ice bring out all the food he had prepared for the party. We laid out the table. First was the arugula salad mixed with other leafy greens, good for your body and all. Then came the soup, which Ice sprinkled with some kind of weird seasoning that he'd gotten from Leaf. Lately, Leaf had stopped looking like someone had killed his puppy and instead always had on an expression of utter glee. I hadn't known anyone could look _that_ bizarrely cheerful, but apparently, having his pockets weighed down by ducats made him a much more lighthearted man. His situation had gotten fairly bad not too long ago, what with how his wedding had pretty much bled him dry of his savings _and_ his seasonings. Now, he could finally buy more of his favorite spices, and boy did that revitalize him.

Ice had gotten one heck of a deal out of the bet too, which was why we were having such a feast right now. In addition to the soup, he brought out some vegetable courses with some type of melon I couldn't even name, and then delicious meat followed after that. With candles casting a low glow around the room and such a hearty meal before us, the atmosphere couldn't be any better!

After Ice and I sat down, we all began to dig into our meal. As I chewed, my face twisted so much that you probably couldn't tell me apart from some wrinkly old guy about to croak.

Similar expressions were coming across everyone else's faces, even Ice's (hey, _you're _the cook! It's your own cooking!). Only Captain Judgment remained unaffected, truly amazing, as well as Hell.

Stone chuckled even as he painstakingly lowered his fork. "Wow, you really went all out too, Ice."

Ice had made all of Captain Judgment's favorite foods. Meaning, everything was so bitter I thought I'd die.

After Stone spoke, he moved some of his food to Hell's plate. "Here, have some more salad. It's good for you."

Moon also did the same. I was tempted to foist some of my food on Hell too, but I steeled myself and swallowed my food in gulps while trying to hold my breath. These were Captain Judgment's favorite foods. I couldn't let him eat all by himself, with only Hell to keep him company!

Eyes watering, I hurriedly downed some wine to wash out the taste. At the same time, Ice piled some of his food on Captain Judgment's plate.

_I...should have done that too!_

As the dinner wore on, we all managed to eat something, but not without our faces twisting horrendously. It was all worth it though to see the small, grateful smile on Captain Judgment's face. It was well known to all of us that Captain Judgment was the farthest you could get from a picky eater. There wasn't anything in particular he disliked, but it just wasn't common for foods that he _particularly_ liked to get made.

Our faces pretty much told the whole story why.

When Ice brought out the cake, I was grateful enough that I thought I'd hug him, but sadly there was cake between us. But! Finally! Finally, here was something we could all eat without being afraid of looking even uglier than rotting undead creatures with our twisted faces! Hell didn't count - he wasn't rotting.

"Opinions?" Ice asked. He had paper in hand, ready to take notes.

Captain Judgment tried out the cake. After lowering his fork, he said, "You've done a fabulous job, Ice."

Oh how I wish that compliment was directed toward me!

While Ice jotted down Captain Judgment's thoughts about the cake and then went around asking everyone else's opinions, I heard Captain Judgment strike up a conversation with Hell about the food. It hadn't gone unnoticed to either of them that they were the only ones whose faces hadn't puckered up like wrinkly raisins.

Hell said in a serious voice, "It was nothing. It is a waste for me to eat but even more of a waste for the food to go uneaten."

"Nevertheless, thanks," Captain Judgment said. "I'm sure Ice appreciates it. I appreciate it too."

Hell gave a small nod, and then somehow their conversation drifted elsewhere. I'm not sure how talk about super bitter food led to whatever they were now conversing over, something about food and inadequacy, about not being good enough, but that's how it ended up being. Hell lowered his voice, so I couldn't really hear much. They talked for quite a long while. Finally, they stopped whispering all secretively. I was surprised that their conversation turned to "the former Knight-Captain Storm." That totally came out of nowhere. It was true that Storm's teacher had taken to haunting the hallways though, and although he didn't look like someone had socked him in the eyes, like what his student looked like, he often made me feel like his entire family had been slaughtered or something with how depressed he was, red rimmed eyes and all.

"He is truly a..." Hell paused, trying to search for a word to describe the man, "very compassionate teacher."

Captain Judgment nodded. "Indeed. He has helped Grisia and me a lot too. Though I am afraid we gave him a lot of trouble during our marriage counseling."

_Translation: We might have traumatized that poor man._

What in the world did Sun do this time? Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised...

Hell murmured, "Ceo has a good teacher."

Captain Judgment lifted one eyebrow. "Oh? So it's Ceo now?"

Hell nodded solemnly. With any other person, they probably would've blushed or denied it. I think his face _might_ be slightly pink, but other than that, he owned up to it right there. Then, he pulled out something from his pockets to show Captain Judgment.

Whatever it was, it made even the other eyebrow of Captain Judgment's shoot up. Hell remained stoic, shoulders tense. But soon after, Captain Judgment gave his eyebrows a rest and smiled a rare, soft smile and said, "Don't worry so much, you're doing just fine."

"But I'm..." Hell began to say.

Captain Judgment interrupted and said, "You're just as human as the rest of us, maybe even more. It's okay, really."

Hell fell silent.

"Things will work out, you'll see."

Captain Judgment was truly such a thoughtful captain, looking out for all of us like this!

My attention was pulled back to the cake when Ice approached me for my opinion. I'd already taste tested several versions of the cake already. This time, Ice had done an even more outstanding job on the appearance of the cake. This one looked so much more impressive than all the others. I looked over the cake and cut a piece from the bottommost layer for myself. Ice looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, I'd already put the spoon in my mouth (I was hungry, okay?).

_Bitter!_

"...that's Judgment's layer," Ice finally said. "This one is yours."

He pointed at another layer, which I was pleased to see was very close to Captain Judgment's layer.

It really tasted a _whole_ lot better.

* * *

As the hour grew later and the candles melted nearly all the way, wax pooling around the bottom, I refilled our glasses of wine and lit new candles. Captain Judgment hadn't partaken in much wine, but he did take a sip now and then for our sake. I raised my glass and said, "To Captain Judgment!"

Then, the rest raised their glasses into the air as well. Captain Judgment also raised his.

Each of us took our turns speaking. Moon raised his glass and said, "To the best leader I could have ever asked for!"

I drank to that wholeheartedly.

Stone added, "To our most dependable comrade, I wish you the best in life!"

I downed my wine and refilled several of our glasses.

Ice spoke quietly. "To Judgment, our brother, our leader. May happiness find you."

I drank to that as well.

Finally, Hell said, "To Judgment, who always believed. I thank you on Grisia's behalf."

We all lifted our glasses into the air. I watched as Captain Judgment took a gulp of his wine, the liquid sliding down his throat. He had been drinking to each of our toasts, but he took the largest gulp with this last one. It was hard to see with the flickering candlelight and how his bangs shadowed his face, but I thought that Captain Judgment's face was starting to turn somewhat red.

I polished off my wine and poured myself some more, suddenly very much wanting to get drunk. Captain Judgment was soon going to get married. _Married!_ To that no good Sun, no less! That super irresponsible Sun who always pushes all of his work onto Storm and Adair and even forces Captain Judgment to buy him blueberry pies like a dog playing fetch. Captain Judgment was no servant of his!

"Will he even treat you right?" I grumbled. "He's always asking so much of you..."

It wasn't that I didn't care about Sun. I did. He was our Sun Knight after all, and boy did it feel wrong when he wasn't around. But he _wasn't_ Captain Judgment, and I'd always felt that Captain Judgment cared a lot more about Sun than Sun cared about Captain Judgment. I knew Sun had a lot on his plate, being the leader of the Twelve Holy Knights and all, and even a huge factor in keeping the world stable, but it didn't seem very fair to Captain Judgment.

Captain Judgment proved to be an excellent mind reader. Even with only half of what I was thinking spoken aloud, he answered my worries.

"Sun asks for favors. Sun makes requests. Sun makes demands." Captain Judgment said.

_A whole dictionary could be written just on the nuances among the ways Sun makes people do things! Are you really sure about this, Captain Judgment?! _

His smile was wry. "He's someone who will even maneuver me into wearing a wedding dress. But he wouldn't be Sun without his mischievousness."

Even though Captain Judgment hadn't said it outright, I could hear the sappy words, "And I do so love his mischievousness," hanging in the air.

Captain Judgment continued speaking. "He is all of that, but Grisia has saved me much more than the other way around. Those words of his, how we might have our backs facing the darkness, but we will still be walking under the light, have meant the world to me."

I filled in the blanks after that for him. _And he is my light._

This, I knew too. Captain Judgment was hopelessly in love, and had been, since forever. It was why Sun had always rubbed me the wrong way. I knew that he'd take Captain Judgment away one day, and that there was nothing any of us could do to stop it.

I poured myself another glass of wine and raised it up, this time saying, "To an everlasting marriage between the Sun Knight and the Judgment Knight! May you shock the world to death!"

Besides me, Moon giggled. "With lightning?"

"At least he's good at that!" I said.

Then, I drank some more.

* * *

After we finished eating, it was finally time for the main event. Stone wondered, for a fleeting moment, if I'd hired strippers, to which Ice murmured that Sun would kill us if I did, but all I said in response to that was, "Of course not! Captain Judgment already has Sun!"

Moon giggled some more. "Yes, yes, Sun can strip for him."

_Exactly!_

Captain Judgment rubbed his temples and looked over at us, face flushed. The wine was really kicking in now. "Let Sun hear that...and...he'll fly into a...rampage."

Moon's eyebrows did a suggestive little dance, like, you know, this crazy wiggle, probably because he couldn't really move his neck, and he said, "Oh come on, I'm sure he's done it countless times for you already in the bedroom! Like, this!"

After he spoke, Moon got up and looked like he had every intent to strip right then and there. Actually, by the time I noticed, his jacket was already on the floor, and he was working on his pendant, but he looked very confused, fingers fumbling. I scrunched up my face and shoved him.

"Hey! We said no strippers!"

He blinked. "Oh, right."

Then, he sat down again. Since there was a glass of wine in front of him, he chugged it down.

His jacket was still on the floor.

Meanwhile, Stone had engaged Ice in talking about the month's patrols where Captain Judgment and Sun had gone out in joint patrols to show off their newly gained understanding of the God of Light's will, that to honor the God of Light was to love thine enemy or all that nonsense that Sun had taken to spouting during the patrols. I couldn't really recall exactly how he'd worded it, but the citizens ate it all up like _cake,_ and just like people high on sugar, they were totally high on all the gossip that resulted.

Seeing Captain Judgment and Sun patrol side-by-side was no doubt an impressive sight. At first, the citizens had been too shocked to react in any sort of way, but then they began clamoring to line up along the streets to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be-married couple. The streets became so congested that patrolling nearly became impossible, and even Captain Judgment's heart-stopping glare couldn't get the crowd to part right away. The invitations Storm and Hell had sent out came pouring in. _Everyone_, and I meant _everyone,_ wanted to come to the wedding. This was totally going to blow Elijah and the princess's royal wedding out of the water. The location that the Pope had first secured wasn't nearly going to be enough, but he wasn't complaining at all. In fact, he was downright delighted.

As Stone rambled off to Ice about what the citizens were now saying about the wedding dress, something about how Captain Judgment seemed to like the "latest fashion," Captain Judgment stood up and made his way over to the weapons and tools. He fumbled through them and said, "We should thank Laica..."

Stone stopped mid-speech, shared a glance with Ice, and then looked at Moon, who had somehow gotten his buttons open, and then glanced over at Hell, who looked completely out of it. I grinned and stood up, making my way over to where the weapons and tools where. Stone, Ice, and Moon followed behind me and each grabbed a tool for themselves.

Captain Judgment had selected the black riding crop once more and was lightly flicking it against his palm. How I wished it was slapping against my skin instead, sharp, tingling pain to keep me company! A parting gift, one last one to remember all the lovely times we had shared over the years.

But it wasn't to be, not today, and probably never again.

Captain Judgment murmured, "I probably won't be able to help you as much as before in the future."

I figured. With Captain Judgment's choice to marry Sun, he was definitely going to be on a _very_ short leash from now on. Unless Sun decided to join in... _Ahhhh, the lightning~~~_

"Thank you," I said. If not for Captain Judgment, I probably wouldn't be at the Holy Temple anymore. I definitely wouldn't be able to enjoy myself like this. Seeing Hell seek out Captain Judgment's advice earlier in the night brought forth memories of how Captain Judgment had settled my worries of inadequacy too. I was good enough. I wasn't a failure.

I slid my finger against the sharp side of the knife hooked by my side. I grinned at the sharp pain.

I could do this.

Just as Captain Judgment went on to explain that while some people might find this "good practice," it wasn't going to help him much because Sun was totally an S and not an M, I cut in and said, "Let's spar."

Captain Judgment blinked and looked up from the riding crop in his hand. "Did you...say 'spar'?"

I nodded. "This is a night for you, Captain Judgment. Let's spar."

The rest were just as puzzled as Captain Judgment. They looked at the tools in their hands, not knowing what to do with them. How little they trusted me! It wasn't like pain was the only thing that was ever on my mind! I knew Captain Judgment! He would like this much more than what they all thought I had planned.

"Since this is Captain Judgment's party, I declare this a test of skills among the 'cruel, cold-hearted' faction! Begin!" I shouted.

Even Hell managed to lift his head from the table when he heard my shout, and he stumbled to get up.

Stone was the first to fight against Captain Judgment, needles against Captain Judgment's riding crop. The rule was to strike the other person three times. Stone was quite steady on his feet while Captain Judgment kind of...swayed. Moon giggled as he flew his hand across the air, copying the trajectory of the needle Stone had thrown.

"Swooosh!" Moon said.

_...But maybe we're all too drunk for this. Am I drunk? I'm not, right?_

"Are you going to use a whip?" I asked Moon.

Moon ran his hand along the chain whip he had eyed ever since entering the room. "Oh definitely this fine one here."

_Oooh, yes, that would feel so good against my skin._

As we watched the battle, Moon rubbed at his eyes. He said dejectedly, "When will I ever get married?"

Ever since he had broken up with his girlfriend, he'd had a difficult time finding a new one. There were few who matched what he required of his lovers in height, and there were even fewer who could handle the craziness that was being together with one of the Twelve Holy Knights.

I blurted, "I hope you never get a girlfriend!"

Moon blinked and then narrowed his eyes at me. "Laica, there's no need to speak poisonously here."

_But I wasn't trying to be mean!_

_If even you're taken... Then what am I to do? Moon is... Moon is..._

"Your whip is only meant for me!" I sobbed.

_You're my one and only SM queen!_

All of a sudden, dark element burst out around Hell. I blinked, my mind still confused because that was certainly no fault of mine...right? My outburst couldn't have been that powerful to even cause Hell to lose control.

I turned to look in his direction. He had taken off the weird, heart-shaped ring he had on his fingers, and now his eyes were blazing.

Oh, and he had wings too.

Not to mention gray skin.

Huh.

"Huh?" Hell echoed my exact sentiments. He gazed at his hand in confusion.

Did he want to join the fight like that or what?

I had no idea what he was trying to do, but he had totally reverted to his death monarch appearance.

Then, he scrunched up his face and... a bunch of undead creatures appeared. From skeletons to spiders to zombies to witches, you name it...

Stone and Captain Judgment both froze. Moon and I also turned our attention to the undead creatures. Ice stood up. We shared a look, and despite being downright drunk, began to dispatch the undead creatures with the tools I had prepared. The undead creatures shrieked. Stone shot needles into their eyes. Captain Judgment dismembered the skeletons with precise flicks of his black riding crop. Moon flayed a zombie until it wasn't recognizable anymore. Ice threw the ball and shackle, knocking over several of them all at once. I threw myself into battle too, grabbing the rope I'd prepared. I grinned when one of the high-leveled skeletons nicked my arm with its blade made of bone.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and outside the door stood none other than Blaze who had his foot raised. We all turned to look at him, well, nearly all of us (Hell was still out of it), and Blaze stared back, baffled. Behind him was actually the entire "good, warm-hearted" faction, minus Sun. Storm was babbling at a high speed, something about how they all had to run away from their party because of how terrifying it was (it really made me wonder what in the world had gone on in that party), but once he saw the state we were in, with gunk all over and corpses littering the floor, he shut up.

Hell finally relaxed his shoulders for some reason. He looked up, saw Storm, and smiled. Despite Hell's alarming appearance, Storm smiled back very easily.

_Ah_, I thought.

I licked the blood that was trickling down my arm.

"Hi," I said.

Earth threw his hands up. "Is there no one sane around here anymore?"

Still, despite his words, he and the rest of the "good, warm-hearted" faction helped us take care of the remaining undead creatures.

* * *

to be continued

******Lucathia:** I don't even know what I'm writing. /o\ By the way, Judgment is said to "dislike nothing in particular" regarding what he likes to eat. He eats bitter chocolate, but I don't think there's any mention that he likes bitter food. I claim artistic license. =P Why do I feel like I was writing a break-up between Metal and Judgment here...

**Kiyutsuna:** I don't even know what I'm drawing. LOL. Metal sure comes with his own personal set of ratings... This fanboy is very much special indeed. x)

Thanks again for reading/reviewing! Check out the fic on AO3 or livejournal for a pic of Metal's fantasy about Judgment in a sleek black dress.


	7. Slice 7: Explosive Fun! Not

A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Kiyutsuna and Lucathia

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Sun Knight belongs to Yu Wo. No monetary profit is being made from this fic.

**Notes: **Co-written with Kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine! Check out the illustrations that go with each chapter on AO3 or livejournal!

* * *

**Slice 7: Explosive Fun! ...Not  
**

* * *

**Blaze**

I hummed to myself as I walked down the corridor that led to the Twelve Holy Knights' rooms. Sun's party preparations were going _great_. The best thing was, all the boring tasks were taken right out of my hands! Sun had taken care of the location by providing his cellar, which conveniently took care of the booze as well. Meanwhile Leaf had offered to prepare all the food, and that was something none of us would ever object to. Leaf's cooking was to die for, especially now that he had a full stock of seasonings again.

With all that out of the way, all I had to do was decorate the cellar and plan an awesome main event! I already had the perfect idea too!

I looked fondly down at the bundle I was carrying. This was pure genius, I tell you. Our party will definitely blow away anything Metal could put together. _Literally_. After all, the key to a good party is to create a festive mood packed with exploding fun, right?

"...Blaze."

I paused. _Did someone call my name?_ I looked around and saw nothing. Shrugging it off to my imagination, I kept on walking.

"Knight-Captain Blaze."

I paused again. I was _sure_ that my name was called this time. I glanced around wildly and shouted, "Who's there!"

Still nothing. I frowned. As far as I could tell, the only person in the corridor was myself. Then, I suddenly realized something.

"...Cloud?" I called out. "Where are you?"

"Here."

A weak voice replied, and I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. _Aha! I knew it!_ I turned around. Lo and behold, there stood Cloud. I grinned.

"There you are! I found you this time!" _Without setting you on fire too!_ I added to myself.

Cloud smiled back timidly. Then, he pointed a pale finger at the bundle in my arms.

"What is that for?" he asked curiously.

"I'm glad you asked!" I beamed and proudly held up the items from the bundle. "These are for Sun's party! These will make the most kick ass main event ever!"

Cloud stared at me with his mouth hanging open. I smiled wider. See, my idea was so awesome it made Cloud speechless!

"...Blaze." Finally, Cloud found his voice. To my surprise, instead of being in awe, he sounded more like he was horrified. _Why is that?_

"Sun will never let you set those off in his cellar."

_Huh?_

"Why wouldn't he?" I was hurt. "Don't you think fireworks are great for a party?"

Cloud gave a small sigh.

"You're bringing explosives into an enclosed space full of alcohol." He spoke slowly. "You could potentially set the whole place and everyone in it on fire."

"WHAT?!"

_I... I didn't think this through...!_

* * *

Dejectedly, I stowed the fireworks into my room. Dejectedly, I went down to Sun's cellar. Dejectedly, I plopped myself down next to the pile of paper streamers I had prepared for decoration. Now that my grand plan was botched, even the brightly colored streamers looked dull and uninteresting.

Cloud sat down beside me and patted my hand softly.

"It'll be alright." He comforted. "Even without fireworks, there are still the decorations to make the party festive. I can help you hang them up, and then we can figure something else out for the main event."

I looked at him gratefully. _Cloud is such a nice guy! Not only did he save me from certain doom by Sun's wrath, he's even offering to help me as well! _

"Cloud, you're a life saver!" I exclaimed, tossing my earlier dejection out the window. _Now's not the time to mope! The party is tonight and there are still lots to prepare!_ Sun had promised to stay out of his room for the day so I could set up the party. I couldn't just sit here and waste precious time!

"Alright!" I jumped up and clutched my fist. "Let's get started!"

Cloud smiled and nodded obediently. Together, we set off to work.

Sun's cellar was really too boring. There was nothing but barrels and bottles stacked along the walls and shelves. I began by hanging streamers along the walls, alternating between bright colors.

_Hmm… Red, orange, yellow…_. Was it green or blue that came after yellow in the rainbow? I stared at the two colors in confusion for a moment. Then, I decided to not worry over the details too much. As long as the colors didn't repeat, it should be fine. On that happy thought, I kept going.

While I was working on the walls, Cloud was busy decorating the big wine barrels. Since this was a party for Sun, booze will definitely be the star of the night. So of course they needed to look bright and cheery as well! Cloud was a really good helper. A bit too quiet, but he sure was efficient. In no time, we had the once drabby cellar transformed into a colorful party room.

To avoid any fire hazards. Cloud even suggested that we use holy light instead of candles to light up the place. He was really good at making little orbs of holy light too. Must be from all the practice he had while holed up in cupboards. It took some time for me to get the hang of making the light orbs. But once we were done, the place looked freaking _amazing_. The little balls of light floated around the ceiling like fireflies, casting a warm glow on everything. _This totally beats fireworks!_

As we surveyed our handiwork, I gave Cloud a big pat on the back. Without his help, I couldn't have pulled of anything nearly as good.

After that, I followed Cloud to the library. We flipped through the party planning books Cloud had found, looking for something we could use.

"Ah! This could work…"

* * *

Soon enough, the evening rolled around and all six of us piled into the newly decorated cellar. As the others beheld the transformed room in awe, I grinned proudly. Especially when Sun's face lit up with a smile as he entered the cellar too! Considering that he was technically colorblind, it felt twice as great to have Sun's approval.

It wasn't long before we all sat around in eager anticipation as Leaf set the table with tasty looking food. There was seasoned bread, roasted meat sprinkled with lots of seasoning, a hearty looking stew that was also topped with seasoning… The list went on.

"Ah, the God of Light's generosity had blessed brother Leaf with such an abundance of seasoning. Sun is gratefu-"

"Will you cut it out with the God of Light speech?!" Earth cut Sun off before he could confuse us any further. "This is a party! A party! Speak plainly!"

As Sun and Earth began to squabble, I wasted no time on digging into the food in front of me.

"This is so delicious!" I shouted after biting into a chunk of meat. Leaf really was a master with seasoning.

Around the table, similar reactions came from everyone else as well. Leaf was absolutely beaming with happiness.

"Eat as much as you'd like!" He said as he replaced the now-empty plate of roasted meat with another one. "I made plenty!"

Everyone cheered at that.

"It's been so long since I've eaten such a good meal." Earth lamented. "Leaf, how did you manage to win the betting pool anyways?!"

Leaf laughed, somewhat stiffly. "I was just really desperate. I had to bet on a something with a high return!"

"What?" Sun cried out, sounding betrayed. "And I thought you were the only one here with faith in me, Strawberry!"

"O-of course I had faith in you as well, Sun." Leaf sounded pretty nervous now. "Have more food! I made your favorite fish porridge."

When it didn't seem like food was enough to distract Sun from the topic completely, Leaf glanced around for something else. His gaze settled on Storm, who was, for once, not nodding off.

"Wow Storm, your complexion looks much better today. Did you get a good night's sleep?"

Leaf's comment brought everyone's attention to Storm's face. True enough, even the permanent bags under his eyes were barely noticeable today!

"I actually got over five hours of sleep last night." Storm looked up from the soup he was sipping and sighed blissfully. _How overworked must you get to be this happy about only five hours of sleep?! _I was really glad that I wasn't the Storm Knight. I can't even imagine being stuck doing paperwork day in and day out.

"Roland finished the day's pile of paperwork for me so I could finally have a good night's rest." Storm continued, somewhat dreamily. "What would I ever do without him..."

_Ewww!_ I made a face at the lovestruck expression Storm had on. This was so sappy it gave me goosebumps! Though I was apparently the only one who felt that way. Earth was snickering while Leaf fawned over Storm's words. Cloud was invisible as usual, but judging from the randomly disappearing food, I'd say he was busy eating. Sun had a knowing smile on his face as he ate his porridge. I suppose he was immune to the sap since he was just as in love as Storm was. And people who are in love were generally kind of crazy. Don't get me wrong now, even with all the crazy, Sun is still and will always be the brother I respect the most. Nothing will ever change that!

Anyhow, back on topic. It was no secret that Storm and Hell had something going on. In fact, I had even witnessed it myself! I shuddered a bit as I recalled that particular event.

It was a regular old day, and I was itching to kick down some doors. As I made my way down the hall, I settled for Storm's door. Though my interest level in his door had gone down over the years, his was still one of the safest doors to kick down. So _BAM! _Down it went. I had expected an ordinary scene with Storm slaving over his paperwork as usual. But what greeted me was anything but that.

For one, Storm was fast asleep. Which would have been normal enough if not for the fact that he was sleeping _in Hell's arms_. There wasn't enough time for me to process all the details, but they totally had their arms wrapped around each other all mushy and stuff. When the door hit the wall with a loud bang, Hell jolted and Storm snapped awake. As I stood there trying to process the scene, Hell scrambled to coax Storm back to sleep. It only took a few moments before Storm dozed off again, and then Hell turned his gaze to me and _glared_.

I wasn't quite sure how I managed to quietly fix Storm's door back in place and escape with my life intact. But that experience had put Storm's door on the "never again" list. I could only comfort myself with the thought that at least it hadn't been as bad as when I kicked down Judgment's door a few weeks earlier. Uggggh. The image of Judgment and Sun locking lips was _not_ something I needed to see. And I could really have done without Sun's revenge in the days that followed. That _really _sucked.

* * *

When all the food had been devoured and dishes put away. It was time to drink! Sun eagerly poured us all glasses of wine, while settling for the entire bottle himself. Taking that as my cue, I lept up and declared:

"Alright! Since this is Sun's bachelor party, we need to make some toasts!"

Murmurs of agreement went around the table. I beamed and raised my glass.

"I'll start!" I turned to Sun. "To our irreplaceable brother, Sun! Don't let Judgment mistreat you in any way, or he'll have us to answer to!"

Sun laughed and took a swig from his bottle. "Thank you Blaze. I'll… remember that."

As I chugged down my glass of wine, Storm lifted his glass with a lazy grin.

"To Sun, I wish you an everlasting marriage." Then he murmured to himself. "I don't ever want to see how much paperwork a divorce would cause."

Sun's mouth twitched, but considering how much Storm did for his wedding, I guess Sun couldn't really retort in any way. So he just drank some more.

Next up was Leaf. His eyes were shining with tears as he spoke. "I'm so happy for you Sun. I wish you and Judgment the very best with your marriage."

Sun drank gratefully to that. "Don't start crying on us now, Leaf-mommy!"

"Congrats on actually getting married, Sun." Earth raised his glass with a smirk. "May you bear plenty of children!"

"Earth, you bastard!" Sun had nearly choked on his drink. "I'm a guy, damn you!"

He made the point of not drinking to that particular toast and turned his attention to Cloud, who had stood up with his glass raised.

"To our leader, Sun." He said, quiet as always. "I hope you will find your happily ever after with Judgment."

Sun smiled and then reached over to pat Cloud on the head. "Thanks, Didi."

After that, Sun turned to all of us and raised a newly opened bottle (he had finished the last one already). "To my dear brothers, Sun will surely keep your words to heart!"

Cheering, we all drank some more.

"So." Earth put his glass down impatiently and glanced at me. "Did you plan anything fun, Blaze? Please tell me you prepared strippers at least."

"Strippers? Are they edible?" I asked. _What's a stripper?_

"You idiot! Strippers ar-"

"Strippers are not edible!" Leaf interrupted in a hurry. He then smiled all mother-like. "We don't want them anyways, right Blaze? I'm sure whatever you've prepared is _much _better!"

Right! Cloud and I had found something that's much more fun!

"Drinking games!" I shouted. Since Sun liked drinking so much, what better way to celebrate than to make it a game we could all play?

Sun did look very interested. Earth seemed kind of disappointed, but Leaf and Storm looked quite curious, so Earth was outnumbered. From beside me, Cloud appeared to explain the game. "It's called 'I've Never...'. The players take turns saying one thing that they've never done. And whoever has done it will have to drink. Whoever passes out first loses."

"Sounds likes fun." Sun smiled. "I'll start then. I've never gotten flat out drunk in public."

I gulped. _I've done that a few times… Oh well! It's only the first round._ Good thing I wasn't the only one. Across the table, Storm had taken a drink as well. I wasn't surprised. Storm always had to drink a lot in public events after all.

"I've never made others do my paperwork." Storm smirked.

All of us shared uneasy glances, Sun looked especially guilty as he chugged back his drink. I think Storm had got to be the only one who always did his own paperwork- along with the rest of the temple's.

_Crap, I'm getting kind of woozy. If this keeps up, I might lose!_ Thinking fast, I blurted, "I've never kissed a girl!"

"That, I will gladly drink to." Earth declared proudly. Leaf happily drank to that as well.

"Ooo, but I've never kissed a guy!" Leaf mentioned while looking quite red in the face.

Sun of course drank to that. And that was it.

"Whaaaat?" Leaf looked shocked. "Storm, you and Hell haven't kissed yet?"

His disbelief was mirrored by everyone around the table. Storm shrank back, while blushing like crazy and protesting.

"O-of course not! It's not a big deal!"

"How can it not be? It's been more than enough time for you to make a move!" Sun declared. "Lesus kissed me right after he confessed!"

"Don't compare me to your relationship!"

"But Hell's been staying overnight at your room for weeks now!" Earth accused.

"We were doing _paperwork_. Thanks to a certain _somebody's_ wedding."

The certain somebody looked to be deep in thought. Slowly, Sun raised his head and asked very seriously, "Come to think of it… Does Roland even know _how_ to kiss?"

Silence.

Earth patted Storm on the shoulder. "My sincere condolences, dear brother."

Cloud then poofed back into existence out of the blue and handed Storm a book titled "Beginner's Guide to Kissing and Other Related Activities." As Storm stared at him in horror and confusion, Cloud giggled and poofed back out of existence. Was he drunk?

By now, Storm was tomato red and looked like he very much wanted to kill someone. With a grudge-filled look at Leaf, he gritted out, "I've never married a princess."

Leaf must be drunk as well. For he only laughed happily and held out his left hand. "I have~!"

Looking at Leaf's ring, I was reminded of something.

"By the way, what kind of wedding ring did you pick, Sun?" I asked eagerly. "Can we see?"

"... Actually…" Sun shifted uncomfortably, then admitted with a sigh. "I haven't found one yet."

A chorus of "ehhh?!"s went up. The wedding was just around the corner! How could Sun not have picked out the rings yet? He was usually so prepared for these kinds of things!

"I just couldn't find the right one!" Sun took a gulp of wine and went on to explain, "I want to get something special, and nothing in the shops seems right… I'm hoping to make something myself with magic, but I'll need help from Aldrizzt when he gets here with Teacher."

Sun looked really frustrated, but there wasn't anything any of us could do. The only magic I knew was fire-based. I frowned, then looked down at the glass of wine in my hands. _That's right, wine! Sun needs to drink more! We should go back to the game!_

"I've never cast an Ultimate Heal!"

Everyone stared at me dumbly. Then Sun laughed and drank, so back to the game we merrily went. Except now, it seemed that we'd all come to the silent agreement of ganging up on Sun.

"I've never learned necromancy," Cloud muttered.

Sun drank without a complaint.

"I've never been put in confinement," Storm said.

Sun winced and drank.

"I've never been called despicable by a princess." Leaf smiled.

Sun sighed but drank anyways.

"I've never been topped by a guy." Earth grinned.

Sun's face was red as he drank.

"I've never-

BANG!

We all jumped and turned to the source of the crash. The cellar door was kicked right off its hinges. From above the door came a smooth voice.

"Looks like I've made it back in time for my beloved student's bachelor party. Thank the God of Light for His benevolent guidance."

Then the owner of the voice jumped down to where we were. The only thing we could do was stare in fear as he straightened up and smiled at us.

_I-it's the former Knight-Captain Sun!_

"Teacher! I'm so happy to see you!" Sun rushed to where his teacher stood while we all blinked in confusion. Wasn't Sun usually the one who dreaded his teacher the most?

Former Knight-Captain Sun looked just as confused, but that passed quickly as Sun kept on talking.

"Where is Aldrizzt? Is he with you? I desperately need him!"

"Child!" Sun's teacher gasped. "I did not raise you to be this way!"

"Huh?" Now it was Sun's turn to look confused.

"You're already marrying Lesus! How dare you want Aldrizzt now as well!"

Our eyes widened. _What is going on here?_ Then Storm spoke up, "Come to think of it… There had been rumors a long time ago about Sun having a foursome! The dark elf Aldrizzt was apparently involved too!"

Earth joined in, "It's true! It was during our fight with that lich Scarlet a few years back!"

"That can't be true!" I was angry. How could they believe such stupid rumors about Sun? "Sun would never do such a thing! I trust him!"

"I agree with… Blaze. Sun woul-wouldn't cheat on Judgment like that." Leaf nodded drunkenly, holding his wine glass tightly.

In the end, it was Cloud who put an end to our argument. He was blearily flickering between visibility and invisibility as he mumbled, "I… was with Sun that day. Earth was too. Nothing happened _hic_, people just misunderstood."

_See? I was right! Of course Sun is innocent here!_

Meanwhile, Sun had also explained to former Sun Knight Neo that he needed Aldrizzt for help with magic. And the two had settled down at the table with Sun pouring his teacher some wine.

"Hahahaha!" Sun's teacher laughed as he clasped his student on the shoulder. "I misunderstood your words, child. Aldrizzt is with Chasel at his house. You can go find him tomorrow. For now, let us drink!"

As Sun agreed with a pained smile, no doubt lamenting his fate of drinking until dawn tonight, the former Knight-Captain Sun turned to us.

"What about you guys? You can either drink with us, or spar with me!"

We froze in terror. Then, after sharing looks with each other, we followed our survival instincts.

We ran for it.

* * *

to be continued

**Kiyutsuna:** Annnnd that is how the warm faction ended up at Metal's party. Neo's back, run for your lives!

**Lucathia:** Kiyu has reduced my vocabulary to a single word - CUTE. (What is this cuteness ahhhhh. Blaze, Cloud, you are both so cute. Come on, "cruel, cold-hearted" faction. This is how you have fun at a normal...ish... party!)

Check out the chapter on livejournal or AO3 for a drawing of Cloud consoling Blaze for not being able to use explosives!


	8. Slice 8: What Could Have Been

A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Kiyutsuna and Lucathia

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Sun Knight belongs to Yu Wo. No monetary profit is being made from this fic.

**Notes: **Co-written with Kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine! Check out the illustrations that go with each chapter on AO3 or livejournal!

* * *

**Slice 8: What Could Have Been  
**

* * *

**Aldrizzt**

Traveling into town was always a difficult matter, but this time even more so. I had my hood secured to prevent people from fainting or gasping upon seeing me, but Neo sauntered in as if he owned the place. Someone gave a shout of, "Is that the Sun Knight?" and then immediately after that, the public swamped him, and I lost him among the sea of people.

Although he was the former Sun Knight, a well known figure in Leaf Bud City, it was never usually this bad when we dropped by. I had really underestimated the magnitude of Grisia's wedding.

"Oh my gosh, it _is_ the Sun Knight!"

"Sun Knight! Congratulations!"

"Sun Knight! Can you bless my wedding?"

"Please name my baby!"

"We are very much looking forward to the wedding!"

"My family has already sent our blessings to the Church!"

"Sun Knight, you are such an inspiration!"

"Sun Knight, you have helped me see the light! Why be enemies when you can stand on the same side? Although he and I have been enemies for our entire lives, we have decided to get married!"

At that last one, which had been spoken in a single breath, I finally squeezed my way closer to the head of blond I had barely managed to catch a glimpse of. Neo had a smile plastered on his face, his entire demeanor completely different from that of my traveling companion.

"I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart," Neo said with a bright smile. "It is the God of Light's will for enemies to forgive each other and join hands, and you have carried out His will brilliantly."

After speaking, Neo looked away from the man who had spoken, caught sight of me, and grinned, his perfect and polite Sun Knight smile from earlier turning much more feral.

"Aldrizzt, what are you hiding there for! Come! Dally any longer and my hair will turn white like yours!"

I rolled my eyes. _Whose fault is it for getting caught in the crowd right away? And are you sure you want to be drawing attention to me right now?_

It seemed that Neo's patience toward maintaining the Sun Knight's demeanor had greatly diminished over the years. He had only said a single line in a graceful manner before he defaulted back to his usual.

"Oh right." Neo turned to the young mother who had asked him to name her baby. "Ahem. A name, you say?" He peered down at the baby in her arms. "From now on, I declare you to be Nagga! May she grow as strong as the serpents of legend!"

"Uh... thank you, Sun Knight! What a unique name!" The mother had her brows furrowed. She probably didn't know what to make of the name.

I dearly hoped the mother and the daughter never learned the real origin of her name. Just last night before Neo and I had reached the city, Neo had been complaining of how Chasel always nagged, how Grisia always nagged, and how _I_ always nagged as well.

"You are all such a bunch of naggers! You really should have been named Nagga! I get it, already, Aldrizzt! I'm not going to give Grisia a hard time, okay?"

Back in the present, one of the townspeople looked suspiciously at me. "Sun Knight, may I ask who your companion here is?"

Neo didn't even bat an eye as he said, "He's yet another I've saved from the darkness. That's all! May the God of Light shine on us all!"

A chorus of "oooos~~~" sounded, and Neo finally extricated himself from the crowd. I tugged on his hood, intent on helping him pull his hood up before more disaster struck.

"Let's not have a repeat performance of that," I said.

He snorted and knocked my hand away, single-handedly fixing the hood in place himself. "Those people seriously have no eyes, always mistaking me for Grisia! I'm _fit._ He's not. Am I dainty like a girl? No! We don't look alike at all! Blind, the whole lot of them! And I thought my student was blind!"

They were truly not very observant. Neo's empty right sleeve dangled from his shirt. Surely that should have been enough to clue most in that Neo and Grisia were different people? Then again, maybe they hadn't mixed them up. Not once had they said that Neo was the one getting married. They had just called him the Sun Knight, which he technically was in the past.

"You've said before that blond hair and blue eyes is really all it takes, right?" I said. _ And presence. _"Besides, being mistaken for Grisia is not a bad thing. He's young." _And I thought you liked looking young._

Neo eyed me strangely. "Do you have a thing for my student? You better not! That's cradle-robbing!"

"I never said anything like that!"

"He's already getting married, you know!"

"I know!"

* * *

Unlike what Neo had initially thought when we first laid eyes on the invitation that Chasel had sent, the city had not burned as a result of the Sun Knight and the Judgment Knight getting married, and neither had the Sun Knight's reputation crumbled to dust. In fact, I'd say that the Sun Knight's reputation was actually shining more brightly than ever. Neo was even laughing as we made our way to Chasel's house, buoyed by what he had seen in the city.

"I can't believe it! He actually did it... He actually made it into an example for people to follow! Hahaha! Only Grisia!"

As we walked through the city, we'd heard plenty of gossip, and there were even fictional stories detailing the "beautiful" love story between the Sun Knight and the Judgment Knight being sold right next to the newspapers. The names were changed, but the stories were obviously about them.

"Read all about it! Read all about how one man was saved from the shadows to walk under the light together with his savior!"

"What a heartwarming story." A group of housewives sighed dreamily.

One of them picked up the story, looked at the cover, and said, "They should have drawn him in a dress!"

"Who? The Sun Knight?"

"No! The Judgment Knight? Haven't you heard? The Judgment Knight is a huge fan of 'the latest fashion'!"

"No way!"

"I won't believe it until I see it!"

"We might get to see him in a dress if we go to the wedding reception!"

"But I heard you need to buy tickets to enter the reception..."

It was with such talk following us that we made our way to Chasel's house. Although the streets grew farther apart and the buildings sparser the closer we got to Chasel's place, talk about the wedding didn't die down much. Practically everyone was talking about the wedding with it only being a few days away.

"I-Imagine _Chasel_ in a wedding dress," Neo finally managed to squeeze out in between his laughter.

_What in the world are you imagining, Neo..._

I'd asked Neo earlier if it were common for men to wear dresses when they get married. It turned out that there was no such tradition, so why was Chasel's student going to wear a dress?

Neo eyed me speculatively. "Or what about you, Aldrizzt? Fancy wearing a dress?"

"Not really," I said. "My robes are much more practical." Just like how it was much more practical for Neo to wear a knight's outfit than to wear a dress. I couldn't imagine him fighting in a dress, especially not one of the puffy dresses I'd seen being worn by several women around town. _What would that look like..._

"Che, you're no fun."

_Neo, is this your way of..._

I frowned, but Neo had already strolled off. I quickly caught up to redirect him.

When we finally got to Chasel's quaint little house, Neo made a gesture as if to shoo me along, and then he jerked his thumb at the street behind him. "See you later, Aldrizzt. I'm going that way."

"Aren't you going to at least say hello to Chasel?" I asked.

"No, no, I must pay my student a visit before his wedding to remind him of his dear teacher's presence. He has likely forgotten, seeing that he didn't even send the wedding invitation himself!"

"Okay," I said, even though I knew it was more of an excuse so that he could escape from Chasel. "But Neo, you should head that way."

I indicated the street opposite of the one he had pointed out. "The Holy Temple is that way."

"I knew that," Neo said when he obviously didn't. He even grumbled about Chasel's choice to live in such a desolate part of town, as if that made any difference. I watched him disappear down the street.

_Will he even reach the Holy Temple before nightfall? Maybe I should go with him..._

Then again, Grisia probably would not mind if his teacher did not make it in time. I shrugged to myself and knocked on Chasel's door, intent on catching up. With Neo out of the picture, I could even give Chasel a status update in person instead of how I always did it by letter.

* * *

"Chasel, you really think too highly of me," I said as he set out the tea. I pushed my hood down and shook out my hair, running a hand through it to get rid of the snags. "I nearly thought it to be a joke when I saw your letter."

"Oh? Did Neo give you a lot of trouble?" Chasel asked. "I'm hurt he didn't even come in."

Chasel blew gently on his tea, dark eyes regarding me curiously.

"To him, you're probably even scarier than a dragon," I said. _Do you even have to ask about Neo and trouble? _"And to the town we were in, Neo was definitely even scarier than a dragon."

"How did he respond?"

I counted on my fingers. "One smashed table, three broken wine bottles, two broken chairs, three unconscious men, and a collapsed roof. Not too bad. I can still count that on my fingers."

I held my fingers up to show Chasel.

Chasel chuckled. "That really isn't all that bad in consideration."

I sobered, letting my hands fall to rest around my tea cup. "Indeed, it wasn't. It was more... after he got tipsy that was more worrying."

We had drunk well into the night, under the starry sky instead of having a roof above us (since Neo had seen to the destruction of that). As the empty bottles grew more and more numerous around us, Neo in turn grew more and more somber. He'd gazed up at the night sky, moonlight shining down on his blond tresses, casting an ephemeral glow around his figure. To me, Neo had always been someone who lived in the moment, and I admired him for it, but at that particular instant, I knew very well that he was stuck in the past.

I could only look on, forced to acknowledge that time wasn't something that ever stood still. We couldn't just live in the present, disconnected from the past and the future. Despite having only known Neo for a handful of years, merely a tiny fraction of my life, I couldn't imagine not having him in my life anymore.

Yet it would eventually come to pass.

I didn't want to have regrets like theirs.

Chasel waited for me to continue. Neo's wry smile surfaced to the forefront of my thoughts.

"At first, he talked about Grisia when he was younger and complained that Grisia was so much of a church hermit that he was even marrying someone from the Holy Temple, but later on, he started talking about you..." I said, voice trailing off.

"Ah," was all Chasel said. He took a sip of tea. Then, he stared down at it, dark eyelashes brushing against his cheeks. This time, it was my turn to wait for him to speak, just like I had listened to Neo. Finally, he glanced back up at me. "I suspect he just never thought it possible between us, and to see our students managing what we couldn't..."

_The Judgment Knight and the Sun Knight getting married is unheard of!_ Neo had shouted. _Chasel and I both know it clearly!_

"Grisia is quite something, isn't he?" I asked.

"That he is." Chasel laughed. "Much more daring than either Neo or me."

"I never understood why either of you let your positions tie you down like that." Just how did they have it in them to honor a god they could not see, to don masks and pretend to be someone they were not? Why let the reputations of dead men dictate their lives? Humans were strange beings indeed.

Chasel shook his head sadly. "For us, our positions were both our bonds and our excuses. In any case, Neo was never meant to be tied down. I'm glad he has you now."

"Don't you miss him?" I asked. Neo was like a force of nature, never someone who could be ever be forgotten. Although I didn't understand humans and their marriage customs, it was clear that marriage was an important step for many of them, and Chasel and Neo had both wanted something like it.

Chasel chuckled. "I do have a Neo-sized hole in my life, but what can I do? The man runs at the very sight of me. Am I really that scary, Aldrizzt?"

Perhaps if I had met Chasel when he was the Judgment Knight, I might have thought him to be intimidating. However, the moment I'd met him, he'd greeted me with a small smile, and we'd immediately bantered over the great burden that was Neo. His house was the coziest I'd ever been in, with a small fireplace and meticulously pruned plants, inviting conversation waiting to be shared over tea. Coming here was always very relaxing. Chasel's calmness always made me feel tranquil too.

I smiled behind my cup. "I was jesting earlier. Rather than scary, I think Neo just doesn't want to be nagged at."

"True, even though Neo is the one who inspires that kind of reaction from everyone. He even makes his student nag at him," Chasel lamented. "Still, I do miss him."

He took a sip of his tea. Then, he placed his cup down on his saucer and glanced over at me with a small smile. "But well, I'm glad I have you now too."

I felt my smile grow.

Although both Chasel and Neo had regrets over their past decisions, I was thankful Neo had decided to go off adventuring. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here sharing tea with Chasel, chatting about the very person who played such a huge part of our lives. Who knew I could have such bonds too?

I sipped my tea, and we continued chatting late into the night.

* * *

When two sharp knocks sounded on the door the next day, I thought Neo might have miraculously made it back from the Holy Temple without getting lost. That, or he had returned without having made it to the Holy Temple at all. However, Chasel's greeting indicated that the person outside was indeed the Sun Knight, though not the one I had in mind.

"Now, this is a rare visitor," Chasel said. "Congratulations on your marriage, Grisia."

"Thanks. Teacher told me that Aldrizzt is here?"

"He's inside."

Chasel opened the door wider, and in stepped Neo's student. Grisia had on a cloak with a hood. He pushed his hood down once he was inside.

"Neo's not with you?" I asked.

Grisia turned in my direction and shook his head. "He went looking for the rest of the Twelve Holy Knights to drink or spar with them, but he hasn't had any luck. I heard from Adair that they were all passed out in the interrogation room. Vidar had quite the fright this morning."

_They were all passed out in the... interrogation room? Did a prisoner of theirs give them a hard time? _

I furrowed my brows. Seeing my confusion, Grisia started explaining, but the more Grisia spoke, the more confused I became. "Vidar nearly tripped over Moon who was only in his boxers! Storm was cocooned inside Roland's wings, snuggled up against him, and Leaf was collapsed on the very table that Cloud later emerged from, scaring Vidar out of his wits. But most importantly, can you believe that Metal was all wrapped up around Lesus' leg, and Lesus himself had a riding crop in his hand? How dare Metal hold their party at an interrogation room, of all places! He's totally corrupting Lesus! And I wasn't even invited!"

Chasel murmured, "Likely because you've corrupted him enough already..."

_Wings? Riding crop?_ _Did he say party? In an interrogation room? _Bizarre images sprang to mind, but nothing added together. I asked, confused, "What are you talking about, Grisia? What party? What interrogation room? Why was everyone passed out?"

Grisia looked blank. "Huh? Haven't I explained it yet? We had our bachelor parties yesterday."

Chasel explained, "That's when friends hold a party as one last get-together before the marriage."

_And it involves riding crops? What a strange human custom..._

"They were all passed out from it. It wasn't like we drank that much! But from what Adair told me, it seems that everyone has a hangover today." Grisia huffed. "In the end, before Adair could finish reporting, Teacher abducted my vice-captain!"

Chasel raised an eyebrow. "So who's taking care of the Holy Temple right now?"

"...My vice-captain."

"While abducted by Neo?" I asked, not knowing how that worked.

Grisia shrugged. "They're still in the Holy Temple. He'll be...fine."

_Are you sure..._ No matter how skilled Grisia's vice-captain was, this was Neo we were talking about here! Handling Neo was a full-time job in and of itself.

After Grisia got all of that off his chest, I congratulated him on his marriage, and then he finally revealed that he was here to seek my help. We sat around Chasel's table as Grisia explained what he had in mind.

"I've been looking for wedding rings, but there isn't anything suitable on the market. Nothing _special_ enough. I thought I'd make the jewels myself out of magic so I could imbue them with protective spells and enchantments."

He rummaged around his pockets and pulled out a rose bead to show me. "Here's a bead I made out of magic, imbued with healing spells. Crush it, and the person is healed. I'd like to make something similar for the rings, but with no crushing involved."

I took the bead and studied it. It was well crafted, the petals intricate, but more importantly, I could feel the holy element that permeated it. Between this example and the Eternal Tranquility, I had a good basis for what Grisia had in mind. I gave him a nod. "I can help you figure it out."

Grisia beamed. "Knew I could count on you! Now, I just need to purchase the bases for the rings..."

Chasel placed his cup down. I glanced at him. He was deep in thought. Grisia and I began debating about how to go about creating his own gemstones for the rings. He wanted Lesus' ring to be blessed with healing spells and protective charms, while he wanted calming properties for his own. When Chasel heard that, he murmured that Grisia was giving this serious thought, to which Grisia answered, "Of course!"

His words hung in the air. Chasel waited for Grisia to explain. Grisia breathed in deeply, as if bracing himself, and said, "I won't let anything hurt Lesus... myself included."

Chasel's reply was a quiet, "I trust you."

For a moment, it didn't seem like Grisia was able to reply. He opened his mouth but closed it, and he blinked his eyes hard. In the end, he smiled a wobbly smile and murmured a small, "Thank you."

Although the conversation drifted back to the creation of the gemstones after that, I couldn't help sneaking glances at Chasel. He was once again deep in thought, fingers curled around the handle of his teacup yet making no move to bring the cup to his lips. From time-to-time, he would glance over at Grisia. When he caught me looking at him, he smiled wryly at me, his smile reminiscent of Neo's smile that night we drank under the stars. Then, he sat back, shoulders relaxing. His fingers uncurled from the handle of his teacup. I turned my attention back to the discussion on hand.

Some time after that, Chasel left his seat. I thought he had gone off to do something else, but he soon returned and set something down on the table before us.

Both Grisia and I stopped and looked at him. Grisia glanced down at the table. "Is that...?"

"Rings," Chasel said. He nodded at them.

Grisia picked up one of the rings and turned it around in his hand. He rubbed his finger along the metal. Immediately, he picked up the other ring and examined it too, running his finger against the inside of the band. He whispered, "Engravings of a moon and a sun...?"

He raised his head to regard Chasel silently. I too, had my eyes trained on Chasel. His smile had melted into one that was truly gentle.

"Think of it as my gift to you and Lesus."

* * *

to be continued

**Kiyutsuna:** The feeeeels... All the feeeels...! *is a puddle of goo*

**Lucathia:** It seems that sentimentality is never far from what I write...! *flails over sad!Neo*

Thanks for all your support! :D Check out the fic on AO3 or livejournal for a pic of Neo under the night sky.


	9. Slice 9: Lending an Ear

A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Kiyutsuna and Lucathia

**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Sun Knight belongs to Yu Wo. No monetary profit is being made from this fic.

**Notes: **Co-written with Kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine! Check out the illustrations that go with each chapter on AO3 or livejournal!

* * *

**Slice 9: Lending an Ear  
**

* * *

**Lanbi**

The midday sun shone through the leaves, blinding me for a few seconds as I reached for the next branch to grab hold of. I squinted, then swung my legs up to wrap around the branch. Hugging the bark closely, I gingerly eased myself onto my knees. I rose up bit by bit until I was standing on the branch, arms reaching back to stabilize myself against the tree trunk. Then, I took a deep breath, eyes locked on my target. I put my right leg forward, leaned back on my left leg, and with a running leap launched myself from the branch.

With a soft thud, I landed lightly on the windowsill. I grinned to myself. After years of practice, this was practically a piece of cake! Peeking through the window, I saw that the coast was clear. So as quietly as I could, I pulled at the window, grin widening when I found that it was unlocked. Opening the window just far enough for myself to slip through, I glanced around once more before poking my head into the room.

I was immediately greeted with a sword's sharp blade against my neck.

"You have a lot guts." A deep voice growled out. "Breaking and entering in broad daylight!"

I gave a lighthearted laugh. "Relax, this is my own house~"

"...Lanbi?!"

The blade was gone as fast as it had appeared. And from behind the curtains, the sword's owner stepped out. He was wearing an expression of shock, his pipe nearly falling out of his mouth.

"Hi Fahr." I waved, then jumped down from the window and into the living room of our shared house. "I'm back! Did you miss me?"

Fahr sheathed his sword with a sigh. "How many times must I tell you to use the front door..."

"And yet you keep the window unlocked for me anyways." I replied and plopped myself down on a chair. Fahr shook his head exasperatedly, then sat down on the chair across the table from mine.

"I thought you were going to stay at the Holy Temple until the wedding?" he asked.

"Change of plans." I leaned back on my chair. "Neo's back, and he's on a rampage at the temple."

"Ah. I see." Fahr nodded in understanding. We'd dealt with the terror that was Neo for over twenty years already while in office. It was more than enough to last a lifetime.

"I guess I've seen all I need to see at the temple anyways." I shrugged. "The kids are doing well."

Fahr smiled, and while taking a puff from his pipe, he asked, "Your note never explained why you decided to stay this long. Did the counseling go badly?"

"No… That wasn't the reason." I sighed. "It's a long story."

* * *

I suppose I should start from the beginning. A few days ago, I had received a summons to the Holy Temple from the Pope. The official explanation was, "The God of Light requires the aid of the former Storm Knight, in a matter of utmost importance. The future of His children's happiness is at stake." The unofficial, and much less inspiring reason, had been for me to play the role of a marriage counselor all because the Pope was too stingy to hire a real one, and the whole ordeal was more or less a matter of procedure anyways. So why not con the former Storm Knight- the icon of romance- into the job?

Needless to say, I was not too amused. However, the task did provide me with the opportunity to check out the hottest gossip nowadays in person. As well as pay my dear daughter- _ahem_, I mean, _student_ a visit. So off I went.

After checking in with the Pope in the Sanctuary of Light, and winking at dozens of clerics in the process, I made my way to Ceo's room in the Holy Temple. Standing in front of the familiar door, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic. I allowed myself a wistful smile as I knocked on the door. This room was no longer my own, so I suppose common courtesy was required.

"Who is it?" Ceo's voice called out. He sounded drained. _How much paperwork did Neo's brat ditch my student this time?!_

"Ceo, it's me," I replied simply.

The sound of a chair scraping came from the room, followed by hurried footsteps. The door flew open and Ceo greeted me with a happy smile. "Teacher!"

"Child." I answered happily, stepping forward to give him a hug. "How have you been?"

Ceo's smile turned sheepish as he answered, "Same old… Kind of. Come in! Sit sit!"

With a quizzical glance at my student, I stepped into the room filled with paperwork. _Honestly, the sheer amount of paper in this room is ridiculous! And are they all for the upcoming wedding?_ For what felt like the millionth time, I found myself lamenting the path Ceo had been manipulated into. Though I suppose I should take comfort in the fact that Grisia had decided to take Lesus as his wife. I don't know _what _I'd do if I really had to give my daughter away to Neo's student!

I sighed, taking in Ceo's pale face and dark eye bags. "My poor child, when was the last time you had a good night's sleep?"

"I'll be fine, Teacher," Ceo reassured me, which only made my heart ache more. "Besides, Roland's been taking care of me. Making sure I sleep enough and all that."

"Roland?" _Hell's new student? _I didn't know Ceo was close to him… _Wait._ "What do you mean by taking care of you?"

I narrowed my eyes. _This sounds suspicious. Very suspicious._ To my horror, Ceo blushed bright red and looked down in embarrassment. I was more than familiar with that particular look, having seen it adorn the faces of countless women in the past. But that's not of importance! Why was my student, my precious daughter, my hopeless child who could not even look at _pictures_ of women without getting flustered… Why was he making such an expression right now?!

Ceo finally looked up and met my eyes. "Teacher… About that, I have something to tell you.

"I… I'm in love with Roland."

* * *

"What!" Fahr nearly choked on his pipe. "C-ceo? He's… He's…"

His good eye was nearly bulging out of its socket. I could only nod gravely.

"My reaction exactly."

* * *

I had gaped at Ceo, mouth opening and closing in a manner that I was sure resembled a fish. After a few tries, I found my voice and rasped out, "C-child… You've jumped straight past crushes?!"

Ceo ducked his head again, looking off to the side as he mumbled out, "...By the time I noticed, it was no longer just a crush…"

Dear God of Light. This was serious. It looked like this trip was as the official summons had said- "of utmost importance to His children's happiness." Except, it was specifically for _my_ child's future happiness.

"Tell me about this Roland." I said, "He's the replacement Hell Knight Grisia brought in years ago, right?"

Ceo nodded. I frowned.

"Wasn't he a demon king candidate as well?" I asked in concern. "Not to mention a high level undead creature..."

While I couldn't care less if Ceo had fallen for a woman or a man (in fact, after all the years I'd taught the kid, I would be surprised if he ever got hitched with a lady. Ceo used to run away at the mere sight of girls!) it was quite worrisome when the person my daughter was in love with was _dead_.

Ceo was silent for a moment, but when he spoke, his voice was strong.

"Teacher. Roland may be an undead creature, but to us he is no different than any other human being. He's one of the gentlest people I know, and I can always rely on him." Ceo smiled fondly, and suddenly my previous worries seemed so very insignificant. _He's in love_, I marveled, _Ceo has found that special person_.

"He makes me happy, Teacher. I like being with him," Ceo continued. "Besides, Roland is great at doing paperwork."

_Child… Is that where your priorities lie?!_

"So, have you told him?" I asked curiously.

Ceo nodded. I grinned. "And? Does he feel the same way?"

I was expecting another nod. But instead, Ceo's response was to nod, then change the motion into a hesitant shake, then back to a nod again. If I didn't know what he was doing, I might have thought that my student was having a seizure. Raising a questioning eyebrow at Ceo, I waited for him to explain.

"I think… He does feel the same." Ceo frowned. "Then again, I can't be certain… He seems unsure of himself…"

"What? How could he!" I growled. _How dare that Roland be _unsure_ about my lovely daughter?! _

"I-I mean, he doesn't have any experience whatsoever with things like this… And, and Roland is really dense! B-besides… He's still struggling with himself over the whole undead creature part…"

"That's no excuse!" I stood up and stomped my foot on the ground. "I should go have a word with him!"

"No!" Ceo hurriedly grabbed my arm. "Teacher, don't! It's fine! Really!"

I paused, heart softening as Ceo's eyes went teary. He _knew _that I could never resist that look. With a sigh, I turned around and put my hands upon Ceo's shoulders.

"Are you sure, child? Are you really fine with this?" I pouted, surely I was doing the right thing! "Daddy just wants the best for his darling daughter. I won't stand for any idiot boys taking advantage of you!"

Ceo, who was used to being referred to as my daughter by now, patted my hand in reassurance. "Yes, I'm sure, _daddy_. Rather than worrying about me, don't you have to head to the marriage counseling now? Sun and Judgment are probably waiting for you already."

_Ah! I had nearly forgotten about the actual reason why I was here!_ I glanced at the door, then back to Ceo. Sensing my reluctance, Ceo all but pushed me to the door.

"Please Teacher, what if Sun and Judgment's marriage fails because they didn't get counseling? I'll end up with even more paperwork!"

_When he puts it like that…_

"Alright, alright. I'll go…" I mumbled and saw myself out the door. However, as I closed the door behind me, a slightly different plan formed in my mind.

_I'm sure that Grisia and Lesus could wait just a bit longer…_

* * *

Fahr sighed. "You went to find Roland, didn't you?"

"Of course not!" I protested. "I just… Ran into him in the halls. And we had a friendly chat, that's all."

Fahr didn't look convinced in the least. "What did you say to the poor boy? He sounds like a nice kid."

"The kid is a brick! A dense, old fashioned brick!" I fumed, recalling the conversation. "It turned out that he was actually totally serious about Ceo!"

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"No! He's too serious! Too sincere! I can't even find a reason _not _to give him my daughter!"

"... And you accuse me of being too soft-hearted when it comes to Chikus…"

I crossed my arms. The feeling of bitter reluctance to let go was surging up once again. "... In the end, I did give him my permission to… to court Ceo. What can I do? It's obvious that the two are head over heels for each other. I'd feel like a villain if I _didn't_ consent. Also, after observing them the past few days, I can't deny that Roland is indeed good for Ceo."

"So that's why you stayed at the temple." Fahr smiled. "I was worried that there might have been something wrong with the wedding."

I shook my head. "No no, the wedding preparations are going quite smoothly. Chasel and Neo's students are really quite something."

* * *

When I had finally arrived at the room where the marriage counseling was to be held, Grisia and Lesus were already in their seats waiting. Putting on a cheerful smile to hide the emotional turmoil I felt after the chat with Roland, I took my seat and spoke as lightheartedly as I could manage.

"Sorry that I'm late! I'll get us started right away." I cracked open the guide book I had picked up at the library. "Let's see… Basically, I'm here to help you two prepare for marriage. Making sure that you are clear on what you're signing up for and all. So drop the masks and feel free to talk about anything!"

The couple visibly relaxed at the last part of my words. Grisia dropped his smile and Lesus' stern demeanor faded into a much more natural one. They also shifted closer to each other -whether that was a conscious action or not I did not know- with their shoulders touching.

Glad for their cooperation, I turned to the book again and flipped through it. "First thing on the list is 'to accept that you are different. There will be disagreements between the two of you, and compromising is important.'"

Lesus and Grisia shared a look with each other, then turned to look at me with matching expressions of amusement. I could understand why. I mean, one can tell from just looking at the two that they were as different as they came. One was the Sun Knight, the other the Judgment Knight. And both were the complete opposite of their images.

"I think we're more than clear on that." Lesus said with a small smile.

"That's right." Grisia added. "Just last night I had to settle for only one pie when I specifically asked Lesus to buy five!"

"It was for your own good…" Was Lesus' exasperated reply.

It was my turn to look amused as I beheld the bantering couple in front of me. "Well then, it does seem like the two of you have that one covered. Moving on…

"Next up is to… expect surprises." I pursed my lips. _This sure sounds familiar_. "There will come times when you are hit by things that you are absolutely not prepared for."

_Such as coming home one day to find your daughter all grown up and getting whisked off to the sunset…_ I added to myself bitterly.

"Surprises huh." Grisia mused. "We've gone through quite a few of those…"

Lesus smiled wryly. "That is true. Such as that time you disappeared and lost your memories."

"Haha...ha…" Grisia shifted his eyes guiltily. "That was the first time you threw me into confinement too... I definitely did not expect that."

"Then imagine the surprise I felt when you threw _me_ into confinement," Lesus retorted.

"Hey! I was just as shocked as you were!"

_What is up with these two… _I listened with wide eyes. _What kind of couple throws each other into confinement?_

"I'm guessing that I probably don't want to know the details…" I muttered.

Seeing that Grisia and Lesus didn't particularly want to feed me the details either, I resumed flipping through the book. "Hmm… 'Let nobody get in between your marriage.' If I may say, I highly doubt anyone will, given how well you have publicized it."

Grisia grinned while Lesus gave a small chuckle.

"It was a daring move," I continued, curiosity peaking. "What made you want to take that chance?"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew heavy as they pondered over my question. After a few moments of stagnant silence, Lesus spoke up. "We didn't want to have any regrets."

"What we have together is something I want to make the most of," Grisia added softly. "Especially with the Demon King…"

He trailed off, while his hand moved to grasp at the front of his shirt where the pendant that kept the dark element in check lay. Lesus took his other hand and laced their fingers together- a silent reassurance. I observed quietly as Grisia gave Lesus a grateful smile and leaned into him. Their small, intimate gestures spoke volumes- _It's okay, I'm here, we're in this together._

As the moment passed, they once again turned their attention to me.

"What's the next point, Teacher Lanbi?"

"Ah, let me see…" I quickly checked, then chuckled as I read it out loud. "'Stay committed to each other. Hardships are an inevitable part of any relationship. Do not let it drive you apart. Perseverance is essential to strengthening your bonds.'"

This was truly a useless point. These kids have gone through enough hardships together to fill a stack of books. And yet here they are, hand in hand, taking on the world together. Their commitment to each other was as clear as day.

It was Grisia who spoke up first. But instead of me, his words were directed at Lesus.

"You never gave up on me." He murmured, "Even when I had given up on myself."

"You have always been the light that lit up my path," Lesus replied gently. "And I will do anything to keep you by my side."

Grisia seemed at a loss for words. He then scowled rather unconvincingly. "I-idiot! You'll just get yourself killed. And I'll have to cast Resurrection to bring you back!"

"You know I won't allow myself to die in your presence again." Lesus' fingers ghosted over Grisia's eyes, then tenderly stroked his hair. "You've already lost too much…"

* * *

"You would not believe how sappy they were getting! How did Chasel and Neo raise them to be like this?!" I complained. "I felt like such a third wheel."

"It sounds like Grisia and Lesus are quite happy though," Fahr commented. "Your counseling went well."

"I wasn't done yet." I grumbled and reached over to snatch Fahr's pipe from his hands.

Taking a puff and ignoring Fahr's indignant protests, I went on with my story.

* * *

"I think we're done here!" I had declared with a smile. "Obviously, even death cannot do you two apart. I don't think you need this counseling at all."

_And Ceo can rest assured that this marriage is not going to fail and give him more paperwork._ I thought to myself. Which was a relief, seeing how he will soon… _No! No no no._ I shook my head. _Don't think about that right now, Lanbi! You'll make yourself cry!_

"Uhm… Teacher Lanbi?"

_Huh?_ I looked up, and found both Lesus and Grisia looking at me in concern.

"Are you alright?" Lesus asked. "You seemed to have a lot on your mind ever since this session started."

"Eh? Ah… I'm fine!" I quickly replied. "I'm just… Thinking about some new… gossip. Yes, new gossip I've heard."

Grisia pursed his lips in suspicion. Then, he seemed to come to some realization. "Could it be that you've heard about Storm and Roland already? I'm right, aren't I? Your heart has sped up!"

_Crap, I forgot about that annoying sensing ability Grisia has!_ Having been pushed into a corner, I had no choice but to relent.

"You're right." I admitted grudgingly. "It was quite a shock."

I received two identical looks of sympathy in response, though Grisia's looked a bit too amused to be completely sincere. I sighed. Since we were on the topic, I might as well get everything off my chest.

"I just can't fully grasp it. They're so serious about each other already! And I've _just _heard about the whole thing."

Grisia nodded. "I think Storm's had a crush on Roland ever since Roland started pulling all nighters with his platoon to help Storm with the paperwork. And that was years ago!"

_T-that long? My child, why have you not said anything to me?_

"These wedding preparations have really brought them together." Lesus stated matter-of-factly. "Roland has barely left Storm's room these few weeks."

_They've been living together?!_ "Has that Roland been taking advantage of my Ceo?!"

"Roland?" Grisia laughed. "I doubt he even knows _how_ to! Storm would totally top him first."

"Grisia, that's enough. Teacher Lanbi looks like he's in shock."

"Ehhh? But I only said the truth!"

"Those are your speculations. Who is to say that Roland couldn't make the first move?"

"...Lesus, now _you're_ traumatizing Teacher Lanbi."

_...My daughter… Just how much have I missed?!_

* * *

"So… You ended up getting counseling from those two instead of the other way around." Fahr concluded as he lit up his spare pipe.

I nodded.

"And because of that, you decided to spend the next few days stalking your student." He went on to say.

"It wasn't _stalking_," I grumbled. "I just wanted to check up on them… In detail…"

"Lanbi." Fahr sighed. "You do realize that you can't baby Ceo forever. He is capable of taking good care of himself now."

"I know, I know." I knew it all in theory, but when it comes time to put it into practice, it was hard to just let go of the child whom I had raised as my own.

Reaching across the table, Fahr put a hand on my head and ruffled my hair. "It'll be alright. Ceo is in good hands."

"Heh." I couldn't help but crack a smile. "He'd better be!"

_Which reminds me…_

I jumped to my feet. "Now that we're done talking, let's go!"

Fahr looked at me in surprise. "To where? You just came back."

"To pay a visit to Hell of course. His new student is stealing mine, no way I'm letting him off the hook!"

* * *

to be continued

**Kiyutsuna:** "When stuck, turn to sap." That is what I learned through this chapter. xD;;; But Grisia and Lesus finally get a chance to truly shine here! Yay /o/

**Lucathia:** Oh the sap. :D Finally a lovey dovey scene between the main couple, haha! We've thrown so many couples at people already. XD (Laaaanbi, don't worry, Roland will take good care of your daughter!)

Thanks for reading! :D Check out the chapter on LJ or AO3 for an illustration of Grisia and Lesus being all lovey dovey!


End file.
